


Three Way Dance

by Beryll (Rynthjan)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Breeding, Dystopia, F/M, Sexual Content, Slavery, Violence, WIP, giant robots with heroic pilots, science motivated torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-14
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-19 08:37:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 72,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1462828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rynthjan/pseuds/Beryll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexander wanted to be a good soldier, Charlie wanted to go home, Tiberius wanted a quiet life. Things rarely work out exactly as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Archangel

"All systems steady, vortex pull inside acceptable parameters. Take him up just a little more."

Harry's voice came to Charlie as a weird, disembodied echo in his own head. Being jacked into Archangel it always became difficult to tell apart whether something was happening to his own body or to the huge, metal frame of the mecha. With Harry with him in the tiny, cramped space that made up the mecha's cockpit it felt like he had a second person in his own head. He had gotten used to the feeling though. While Doctor Harry Jackson never accompanied him into actual battle he had been there from the start of his training and whenever they were testing new gear or specs on Archangel he preferred being right there with Charlie as well. After all Archangel was his baby.

Adjusting their altitude felt exhilarating to Charlie. Archangel was the only mecha with flight capabilities. Admittedly rather limited flight capabilities, they had to be extremely careful not to get too high, obviously, or the vortex would have pulled them into oblivion. But the sheer awesomeness of being able to soar on the mecha's wings was incomparable.

There were a lot of things he hated about being forced to fight for the Conclave against his own people, but piloting Archangel wasn't one of them. In the last four years the mecha had become an extension of him. When he jacked into Archangel he left his own fragile body behind and became the hulking creature of steel and energy. And he loved it. In his dreams he sometimes found himself being Archangel and those dreams were glorious. As much as he wanted to go home, he couldn't imagine ever leaving this behind.

"Very good. Keep the heading." Harry told him and then started muttering incomprehensible strings of numbers and letters to himself, apparently reading off his monitoring screens.

They were pretty far out in the empty lands that the Conclave used for their mecha testing. From above through Archangels extended sensors Charlie had a magnificent view of the weird rock formations that sprang up from the dry ground, almost devoid of any life. Very few zones on earth still supported wild life. 

With a start he suddenly noticed that only a few miles ahead they edge of the Darkened Sea was already rushing to greet them.

He started pulling Archangel into a wide turn, but was immediately interrupted by Harry. "What are you doing? I said keep the heading!"

"We are nearly at the coast, Doctor." Charlie answered, surprised that Harry hadn't noticed himself.

Speaking while jacked in had been a major challenge to Charlie when he started his training. It was so hard to remember how to control his own body and do something as complex as speaking. But Harry had been his usual, endlessly patient self and devised a training routine for him.

The best way to train him had been a point of contention from the start between Doctor Jackson and Professor Shin, who headed the mecha program of the Conclave. Professor Shin firmly believed in using the control chips that were implanted in all captured pilots to shock them into obedience. Harry maintained that Archangel was his mecha and he could train his pilot however he damn well pleased. Charlie had been really lucky that Conclave laws clearly stated that each scientist had the last word in his own project.

"Yeah, that is the plan." Harry grumbled. "I need some data on performance over water."

Obediently Charlie returned to their original heading. After all it wasn't his job to decide where they were going; he was just doing the flying. He didn't have to like the fact that they were skimming dangerously close to the edge of his control chip's safe zone. Surely Harry was aware that it wouldn't be exactly pleasant if the chip went off and shocked him into unconsciousness while he was jacked into Archangel. And that they would crash into the sea.

But Harry seemed entirely oblivious and kept muttering about his readings.

Charlie felt the absurd urge to scratch his neck where he knew the chip was implanted at the base of his skull. Only the itch translated to Archangel and he wanted to scratch the mecha's neck instead of his own.

He didn't know the exact range, but surely they had to be getting fucking close now.

"Uh… Harry…?" he asked, unable to keep quiet anymore.

"Yes?" he asked, immediately alert since Charlie rarely used his first name where recordings were running.

"We should really turn around now. My chip will…"

"Don't worry about it." The Doctor interrupted him cheerfully. "I deactivated it."

Charlie was so shocked that Archangel took a violent dive towards the water, until he caught himself and pulled the mecha back up. "You did what?! But…" Charlie could think of no reason whatsoever why Harry would do something so foolish. After all it was the chip which guaranteed Charlie's obedience.

The Doctor chuckled. "Remember last month when I told you I needed to do a check up on it and put you under?"

Charlie nodded and then realized that from inside Harry couldn't see Archangel nod. "Yes, but…"

"I put in some extra coding that allowed me to fry the code structure that keeps it functioning. It's permanently out of commission." Harry explained calmly.

"But why?!" Charlie finally managed to finish his sentence.

"Because we are leaving." Harry said like he was stating the most natural fact in the world.

"Leaving? Where?!"

Harry chuckled and Charlie was treated to the eerie sensation of someone patting his arm, his real arm, not Archangel's. "We are going to join the Gaia Collective. Since we are stealing Archangel plus pilot and scientist, they will be delighted to take us in."

Stealing Archangel. Of course they were stealing Archangel. That was why they were over the sea where no other mecha could easily go.

It still left Charlie's real question unanswered.

"But why would you do this?" he asked. "You are a respected member of the Conclave. Why would you give that up?"

"I think that's fairly obvious." Harry answered calmly. "Because you long to go home. And you won't part with Archangel. And I won't part with Archangel. So all three of us are going."

For a moment Charlie wondered what was wrong with Archangel's sensors. Then he realized that it were his own human eyes that were stinging. "You're doing this for me." He said softly, still hardly able to believe it.

"Of course, dumbass." Harry snorted. "That's what friends do, you know. Now adjust our heading a bit south. We don't want to make landfall too close to Gaian territory."

"Aye, Doctor." Charlie acknowledged.

He was going home. After over four years of captivity, he was going home at last.


	2. Conclave Laboratories

Alexander awoke with a start, his heart beating furiously in his chest, his breath loud and laboured in his own ears. His body tried to jerk him upright and violently collided with the bindings keeping him down, holding him strapped to the unyielding metal table underneath him.

Painfully bright light was focused on him from above, making it extra hard for his eyes to adjust and refocus.

Gradually his body calmed down and his mind regained control.

The incessant hum and irregular beeping of scientific equipment reminded him where he was and replaced his adrenaline spiked anger with cold dread.

Professor Scorten's laboratory had become painfully familiar to him since he had first been brought in here along with his surviving comrades.

He closed his eyes against the glare of the bright lamps mounted above the table, fighting down sudden nausea and silently sending a prayer to Zeus on behalf of his dead comrades. They had not died in battle, but still they had died fighting, screaming and clawing at their restraints.

When they had been captured by Conclave troops they had all prepared themselves for the worst. The Conclave very rarely exchanged prisoners. Mostly, they disappeared into the depths of the Conclave underground laboratories, never to be seen again. They didn't know what exactly awaited them, but surely it would be something terrible, considering the reputation of the mad scientists who ruled the Conclave.

None of them had been prepared for the true horror of being subjected to countless experiments which to Alexander had seemed like a random string of torture sessions for the amusement of their captors.

One by one, his comrades had succumbed to the results of those experiments.

Until it was only him.

It wasn't the first time he had awoken like this. Lately it had become a regular occurrence. They would strap him into the machine, it would burrow probes into his skull and his spine, then the pain would start and he would scream until blessed unconsciousness took him.

And inevitably, he would wake up on this cold metal table, exposed to their cold, curious eyes.

Only this time, there was no one leaning over him to poke him with tools he didn't understand. And he wasn't really cold.

Confused, he opened his eyes and raised his head enough to look at his strapped down body. For the first time since he had been brought here, he was wearing clothes. A simple grey overall, but clothes none the less.

His senses seemed to wake up more and more and he realized that they must have kept him on some sort of drugs the whole time that he had been here as his mind felt much clearer and sharper as well. Really the only pain he felt at the moment was a sharp sting at the base of his skull. He turned his head to the side, moving carefully to avoid aggravating it, but it stayed the same.

The laboratory looked the same as always, a confusing clutter of machines, screens, tubes, wires and tools. In one corner the monstrous machine that they strapped him into loomed. 

The sliding door to the corridor was open. Across from the laboratory was the holding cell where he was imprisoned in between sessions. At first, he had shared it with his comrades and it had felt cramped. As they got fewer and fewer he had realized that cramped was not such a bad thing. They had tried to keep track of time, but eventually given up.

"I really have no time for this nonsense!" Professor Scorten's angry voice from the corridor broke him out of his dark thoughts.

"But, sir!" Another voice interrupted the Professor in a show of defiance that was entirely new to Alexander. This one was female and sounded rather young. "You can't seriously suggest we let him anywhere near Snare! He's a Legion soldier!"

"I am not suggesting, Claudia, I gave you an order!" Professor Scorten sounded seriously aggravated. "If that traitor Jackson hadn't stolen Archangel we wouldn't have to resort to such desperate means!"

Archangel. That name meant something to Alexander. It was one of the Conclave mechas. The one with the laser sword and wings. They had lost a mecha? That was good news indeed.

"And we will lose Snare as well if we let a Legion soldier pilot him!" The girl complained loudly.

It slowly dawned on Alexander that they had to be talking about him. He blinked into the blinding lamps above him in confusion. He wasn't a mecha pilot. Like all Legion citizens, he had been tested as a youth and again when he enlisted for service as a legionnaire. His tests had been negative. He didn't have the elusive mix of genes and brain configuration that allowed a human to interface with the controls of a mecha. 

Slowly his eyes were drawn to the hulking machine in the corner with rising horror. Unless they had done something to him to change that. Unless they had discovered a way to create pilots.

Pilots were the one resource that none of the three factions had enough of. They were extremely rare. None of the factions had so far managed to find pilots for more than five mechas. If the Conclave could generate them at will, they would have an incredible advantage. One that might well let them win the war that had been raging between them, the Legion and the Gaia Collective since earth had been thrown into the vortex.

"Silly girl! Do you think I would let him anywhere near Snare if we didn't have a way to control him?" Professor Scorten snarled. "We've imbedded the brand new Mark IV control chip in his brain, you can switch him on and off at will. We won't see a repeat of the disaster with that blasted Gaian bastard."

So that was the stabbing pain at the base of his skull. They had put something in his head. And they expected him to pilot a mecha for them? To fight for the Conclave? 

He would never do that, never betray the Legion, was his first thought. But then he quickly reconsidered. If he refused, they would just keep torturing him. If he agreed and behaved, however, he might be able to fool them into trusting him. He might be able to steal one of their mechas and give the Legion not only an extra mecha and an extra pilot, but maybe even a chance to reverse engineer what they had done to him.

"Me?" The girl squeaked in horror. "What do you mean?"

The Professor had reached the laboratory and walked in. In his white coat, with the thick glasses precariously balanced on the tip of his nose and white tufts of hair, he looked like the proverbial mad scientist. Alexander could attest to the fact that he was a heartless, cruel bastard who cared about nothing but results.

"Don't be stupid, girl!" Scorten growled at the young woman following him. "I must continue the research! Do you really think I have time to oversee a pilot and maintain Snare at this important turning point?!"

Scorten was a short, squad man, but even next to him she looked tiny. She was a slip of a girl with hair cut short and dyed an electric blue, wearing overalls not unlike the ones they had put on Alexander and an amazing assortment of rings and piercings in her ears, nose, eyebrow and lower lip.

To Alexander she looked like she desperately needed to be taught some respect and manners, preferably with a good beating.

The professor picked up a device that looked like a large wrist watch from a nearby table. "Here, I'll show you." He said to the girl and turned towards Alexander.

Alexander had only a split second to brace himself, then he screamed as his whole body seemed to ignite, flooded with pain so intense it made everything he had endured before seem like insignificant warm up. It went on forever.

"…see we wired the chip directly into his pain centre." The voice of the professor penetrated through the haze, making Alexander realize that the pain had disappeared as quickly as it had come without a trace. "It's a very elegant solution." Scorten continued to explain. "The wonderful thing is we are not really hurting him at all, we just trick his brain into thinking he is hurt."

"That… is… really… awesome…" The girl replied in a choked voice and when Alexander glanced over to where they were standing, he noticed to his immense relief that she looked quite horrified. So hopefully she wasn't a sadistic bastard like the Professor, considering that the device was now secured around her wrist.

"Yes, yes it is, girl!" Scorten rubbed his hands together in obvious glee. "Now, take him and get out of my sight. I have work to do. Real work!"

The girl, Claudia, turned around and for the first time they actually looked each other in the eye. She couldn't have been more than a teenager. That she held control over his life would have been inconceivable in the Legion. More evidence that the Conclave was insane.

"Well…" she said hesitantly, but then she straightened her shoulders and came over to the table he was still strapped to. She easily used the controls of the table to disengage the straps binding him.

He sat up slowly, trying to gauge how much the latest experiments had weakened him. He made it off the table without getting dizzy, but his legs nearly buckled when he put weight on them. He caught himself on the edge of the table and was quite surprised when the girl wrapped an arm around his waist to support him as well. The tips of her spiky, blue hair barely came up to his collarbone, but she was stronger than she looked.

"Come on, let's go." She said softly, with a worried glance at the Professor who was studying something on one of his screens.

That was a plan Alexander could agree with without reservations. Any place would be better than here.

They made it to the door before Scorten's voice stopped them. "And Claudia, if you kill him, don't lose his body! I still need to dissect him!"

Still leaning on her he felt her shiver at the words. "Of course, Professor." She answered with fake cheer and quickly ushered him out of the lab.

They were a few more steps down the corridor when she spoke again, softly this time and clearly directed at him. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'm not like him. I won't let him have you."

He should have scoffed at the notion. After all, he was a mighty legionnaire and she was just a weak, little girl. He still felt greatly reassured by her words and her compassion.


	3. En Route to Hall of Heroes

Tiberius watched the world roll by outside the window of the heavily armoured limousine he was travelling in. The well kept streets of Nova Roma had given way to lush fields over an hour ago. Now the fields were thinning out as well. Soon they would pass into minefields that surrounded all but a few approaches to the Hall of Heroes.

A while back at school they had watched a documentary about the building of the Hall of Heroes and what measures had been taken to secure it against enemy incursions. It was the best fortified military installation of the Legion. No one got in or out unauthorized.

He had a VIP pass in he had never wanted.

This morning, he had headed to school like it was just any other day. He hadn't even remembered that today the pilot testers would come round and run their routine program on his grade. No one was excited about it. The last time they had found a pilot with these tests was years ago. Pilots were so rare no one expected to be one.

Tiberius wasn't even sure who had been more surprised, him or the techie who had been rather bored until the scanner he was running over Tiberius' head blinked an insistent green. The poor man had been so flustered it had taken him a full two minutes of scanning again and again until he remembered protocol and called his superiors.

By then Tiberius was thoroughly confused, annoyed and just a little scared.

He already had his father constantly pushing him into a career he didn't want. He really didn't need the inescapable fate of being a pilot on top of that. He hadn't even planned to join the military. He wanted to become a doctor.

Of course no one had bothered to ask his opinion. Being a pilot was the highest honour imaginable.

The senior techs called in to double and triple check him had been accompanied by a whole pack of elite legionnaires who's sole purpose it was to keep Tiberius save until he was either proven not to be pilot material or safely delivered to the Hall of Heroes. No pilot ever went anywhere without such bodyguards unless he was in his mecha, of course. The same elite legionnaires who were still with him now. In the car, in the cars in front and behind his limousine, on the armed combat bikes running point and rear. They knew exactly what they were doing, drilled to perfection. Nothing was more important than keeping the few pilots the Legion had.

Tiberius hadn't really paid attention to the mecha program. That they only had two pilots currently he had only heard this morning from the excitedly babbling techs. Apparently two other had fallen in battle less than a month ago.

That something was actually capable of killing a mecha pilot was chilling. Tiberius had seen plenty of footage of the glorious Legion mechas posing for the cameras. They looked invincible. Which was the point of such videos, obviously. Why else would they run them with pompous battle hymns and mechas always marching off into battle right into the sunset.

Tiberius rather cynical and realistic view of these matters wouldn't have been very popular if he ever voiced it. Growing up with a father who was a senator and elbow deep in every intrigue of the Legion leadership had taught him that most of the official propaganda was - well - propaganda. Luckily being around his father had also taught him to keep his mouth shut. After all Senator Maculus expected his only son to follow in his footsteps.

Accordingly, Tiberius first phone call had been to his father's office when they decided that he really was pilot material and would have to be properly tested at the Hall of Heroes. He wasn't quite sure if he had hoped the old bastard would somehow get him out of this or whether he wanted him to choke on the fact that Tiberius wouldn't become a senator after all. 

Both hopes had died a quick and painful death.

His father was ecstatic at the news. Obviously, the fact that he could now market his son as a pilot - the most prestigious title to be had - outweighed everything else. Once more whatever Tiberius might want for himself was thrown under the bus of his father's career.

At least he had been allowed to go home, pack and say goodbye to his mother. She had always supported his hopes to live the life he wanted, not the one planned for him, so she had been as shocked and upset about the news as Tiberius himself. But even she had reminded him that the Legion needed pilots - needed defenders and heroes against the threat of the Conclave and the Gaia Collective.

By the time he was done packing, his father had arrived with a pack of slobbering press people who wanted to capture the teary goodbye of the son heading out to war on camera and give his father a chance for melodramatic speeches.

The elite legionnaires had come in handy at that point, letting no one near him - much to his father's disappointment.

And now they were nearly there. The road went into a wide arc and on the left, Tiberius could see the huge, circular building that housed the Legion's mechas, pilots and all the support staff. Supposedly it had been modelled after the Coliseum in old Rome. Tiberius had his doubts since no pictures of that building remained. It was all hearsay.

It was damn impressive nonetheless.

"We will arrive shortly, sir." The legionnaire who was riding in the back of the limousine with him informed him ridiculously politely. 

He sounded relieved. For him and his mates this had to be an incredible tense mission. To lose the precious pilot after it had just been discovered would have cost all of them their heads. Literally. The Legion military was many things, but forgiving wasn't one of them.

"Thank you." Tiberius told him just as politely. That he wasn't happy with this turn of events didn't mean he could be polite to a man who was just doing his job.

Judging from his startled expression it wasn't often that someone thanked him.

Tiberius closed his eyes with a soundless sigh. People expected him to be giddy with excitement, humbled, fierce and proud of the Legion and the honour to serve. All he felt was annoyed that his life was stolen from him and vaguely guilty for being annoyed.

Maybe the tests at the Hall of Heroes would be negative. Maybe by the end of this day he would be back at home. Maybe tomorrow he would be back in school and everyone would joke about how he had almost become a pilot. Maybe his father would give up his career and be a nice, supportive dad. Maybe the earth would fall out of the vortex and there would be peace.

Right.

Maybe he'd better hope for something attainable.

Maybe it wouldn't be all bad.

After all he would get to pilot a fucking mecha.

Maybe the other pilots would be cool. Brotherhood of warriors and all that crap.

Maybe he wouldn't die in some stupid battle over vortex flotsam.

The limousine rolled onto the huge plaza in front of the Hall of Heroes. A whole gaggle of people in a mix of uniforms were waiting for them already. There were techs in their dark green coveralls, regular legionnaires in the traditional brown, more elite legionnaires in brown and red and of course two intelligence officers in brown and gold.

Both of them walked forward when the limousine stopped like they were predators scenting bloodied prey. Watching them approach, Tiberius couldn't help but notice that they each lengthened their strides to reach the limousine first until they were almost running.

They were both young men in their early twenties. One was slender with a mop of curly blonde hair, the other tall and muscular with short cropped brown hair. Neither of them looked particularly likeable.

The brown haired one reached the limousine first and nimbly took up a position which allowed him to open Tiberius door and at the same time block the access of his colleague. What a charming person, Tiberius thought sarcastically. He still managed to cement a neutral expression onto his face. Years of training at dinners with his father came in handy now.

"Mr. Maculus, I'm Cassius Hannis." The helpful door opener immediately introduced himself. "Please let me be the first to welcome you at the Hall of Heroes."

Tiberius had met enough sycophants of his father to recognize one when it was licking his boot. Once more his last name was a ticket to the top it seemed. Not something he really liked but he'd be damned if he didn't use it here. At least until he got his bearings.

The blonde intelligence officer hovered nearby, obviously expecting his counterpart to introduce him as well, which Cassius studiously ignored.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Tiberius greeted Cassius. Then he turned to the blonde one. He knew how to play the favour game. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name…?"

"Janus Bella, at your service, sir." The blonde jumped at the opportunity and granted his colleague an amazingly threatening smile.

They reminded Tiberius of two hungry predators tearing on opposing ends of a carcass. Tiberius wasn't exactly happy with the role of carcass, so he didn't wait for them to fight over who was going to get what privilege with him.

"Shall we go in then?" he suggested. "I'm dying to see the mechas."

Playing these two against each other would be easy and dangerous at once. At least one thing he would have fun with in his brand new and entirely undesired life.


	4. The Den

Charlie woke up with an angry pounding in his head. It sounded like a whole work crew was trying to build something rather huge as quickly as possible.

In his happy, post-party haze, it took him quite a while to realize that he didn't feel any pain and that in fact the pounding wasn't in his head but coming from outside. Considering Commander Natalie Sky had personally promised last night that suitable accommodations for Archangel would be constructed straight away, it was entirely possible that this was the intrusive noise.

Charlie stretched in his large bed and grinned up at the wooden ceiling feeling entirely content. His mind was still pleasantly fussy from last night's wine and maybe he had smoked a bit too many of those chacu pipes going around among the party guests. But being home at last needed to be properly celebrated. Leave it to the Gaians to throw a party to be remembered.

Of course he had hoped that they would be welcomed, but the actual reception they had received had been quite overwhelming. Being greeted by the First Servant of the Collective herself, Lady Diana Sky, was an incredible honour. She was a legendary figure of wisdom and great leadership and Charlie had been reduced to a stuttering fool in her presence. 

Luckily Doctor Jackson had been a lot less awed. He'd politely kissed her hand, made compliments and even made her laugh. He was great with ladies in general and even better with high ranking ladies. That he was also a brilliant scientist and a great asset to the Collective had probably quite endeared him to Lady Diana as well. As always, Harry had successfully deflected the attention of the high and mighty from Charlie and he was endlessly grateful for that.

There had been plenty of interest in him by everyone anyway. He had hardly gotten enough breathing space to introduce himself to the other pilots who had of course been at the party as well. As much as he had hated his captivity at the Conclave, his fellow pilots had made things bearable. He hoped that here it would be the same. At the same time he was worried that Commander Natalie would try to force him to go into battle against Conclave mechas. There was no way in hell that he would fight his friends. Some of them were as trapped by the Conclave as he had been.

One of the many things he and Harry would have to sort out in their new life here.

His stomach grumbled loudly and then a wave of nausea rolled over Charlie, reminding him of all the gorgeous food he had stuffed himself with at the party. It had been folly, considering that he had lived on the carefully synthesized nutrition cubes of the Conclave for the last four years. His body wasn't used to wholesome food anymore. He'd have to eat a lot more careful for the next few weeks than he had last night. But it had just been so awesome to have real meat and bread and sugar in his mouth again.

Probably, Harry would later lecture him on what such food could to do the carefully maintained balance in his body. He couldn't bring himself to care. Charlie very much hoped that Harry would grow to like life here as much as he did.

With a groan he rolled out of the large bed. Like all the other pilots and the support crew, he and Harry had been assigned rooms at the large lodge that was lovingly called 'The Den'. 

The room he now occupied was about four times the size of the small cell he's had at the Conclave. The floor was polished wood, covered by hand-woven rugs, the furniture was beautifully crafted from wood and the curtains in front of the large window were bright yellow. Just the fact that he even had a window was a major improvement over the cell under the Hangar at the Conclave.

What he really wanted to do was to throw that window wide open, breath in the fresh air, enjoy the view. Instead he hurried to the shared bathroom a few doors down the corridor that he had been shown when they had first been given their rooms. 

It would definitely take a while for his body to adjust to real food again, he decided when he went back to his room a few minutes later, feeling like he had lost several pounds of rather smelly baggage.

This time he did go to the window and opened it. To his delight, he found that it overlooked a large garden that the sprawling lodge seemed to be build around. His room was located on the second floor of the lodge and from his vantage point, he could see that between the trees there were plenty of flower patches, well kept lawns and pathways. Much more important was the large swimming pond at the centre of the garden. In the early day-pulse of the vortex, the water sparkled invitingly. 

Suddenly it was a very easy choice would he would do first today.

In his time at the Conclave, he had never worn anything but the standard issue coveralls. Last night he had already felt very out of place, compared to the varied and colourful clothing of everyone else. He definitely needed to get himself and Harry some proper clothes. At the Conclave everything essential had been provided to the pilots and Harry had been kind enough to buy him some extras now and then. Charlie realized that he had no idea how things worked here. He'd need to check with Commander Sky. With a grin he realized that he actually hoped for some kind of pilot salary with which he would be able to buy things he fancied instead of the Collective providing goods.

For now his shorts would do as swimming attire, he decided.

Finding his way down to the garden was surprisingly easy. The lodge was spacious and sprawling, but there were plenty of windows and everything was built in a simple, straight forward way. Not like the maze of corridors under the Hangar at the Conclave.

When he reached the swimming pond, he found that someone else apparently shared his choice of morning exercise. While the pond had still been empty when he looked down at it, now there was a huge, heavily muscled man ploughing through the water. His dark skin was decorated with bluish tattoos and his hair a wet mass of long dreadlocks. Charlie recalled that he had been introduced as one of the Gaian pilots last night, but couldn't remember the name.

Since the pond was large enough for several swimmers, Charlie gave the other man a friendly nod and smile in terms of greeting, dropped his towel on a bench where another one was already lying and then started doing his own laps.

He hadn't actually missed swimming. The careful exercise program at the Conclave had included plenty of varied sports that made sure every part of his body remained in top condition. But now that he was in the water and just swimming, without a lab tech constantly monitoring and correcting him, he enjoyed it tremendously. He had to admit, though, that those same techs had whipped him into a top condition. He didn't tire at all.

When the other man waded out of the pond he followed anyway, hoping to catch a chat.

They both dried themselves and Charlie had a chance to gawk at the various scars decorating the other man along with his tattoos.

"So you are the new guy?" The man asked with a deep, rumbling voice that fit his physique perfectly. His smile showed white teeth and turned him from dangerous warrior to quite friendly hunk.

"Yeah, hi." Charlie grinned at him with all his charm. "I'm Charlie. I know we were introduced last night, but there were so many people I'm afraid I don't remember your name…?"

"Small wonder you don't remember." The man chuckled amiably. "It's Mouse."

"Mouse?" Charlie asked with all the incredulity he felt and that was obvious expected of him.

The huge man nodded. "Yeah, I grew up with a tribe that roams the wildlands south of Gaian territory. I was born early, pretty small, so my mom named me mouse. Couldn't have guessed I'd grow so big. The name stuck."

The wild tribes were people who refused the rule and protection of the three large factions that made up the bulk of what remained of humanity. They were considered savages by all three factions, but the Gaian Collective traded with them occasionally.

"So how did they find out you were a pilot?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Oh, it's one of the conditions the Gaians put on trading with us. Parents must have their kids tested." Mouse shrugged. "I think the gal doing the testing was even more surprised then the rest of us. My mom was delighted, actually, she traded me for a lifetime supply of medical aide."

"She sold you?" Charlie asked shocked. Gaians were the only of the three factions who did not keep slaves. Or so he had thought until now.

Mouse laughed. "Don't look so horrified. I like it here. Much better than the savages. And I love my mecha."

The thought still made Charlie's stomach churn after just having escaped the Conclave's grasp, but he quickly changed to a safer subject. He could still find out more about the Gaian slavery practices from another source. "So which one is yours?" he asked the question every pilot loved to answer.

"Bageera." Mouse grin was full of pride. "We have fought a few times actually. Though it's fucking hard to get a hold of your Archangel. I don't think I've ever landed a hit on you."

Charlie's grin mirrored Mouse's. "Yeah, Archangel's wings are pretty awesome when I need a quick exit. I wouldn't want to get into a close embrace with your Bageera." 

Mouse's mecha resembled a huge feline, capable of running very fast on four legs, while fighting reared up on the powerful hind legs. Gaian mechas employed a mix of high-tech and biotech, making them very fast and powerful but not incredibly sturdy.

"I think Hound is the only one of yours that I've always had to be careful of." Charlie mused. "Those acid barbs are hellish."

"Wait till you meet Lena." Mouse said with a smirk. "Her barbs are even worse."

"She's the pilot?"

Mouse nodded. "Yeah, she is Legion, originally. She tested positive on pilot and they refused to let her have a mecha because she's a girl. Well, make that a woman. Really nothing girlish about that beast. Anyway, apparently they pretend that there simply are no female pilots and they tried to off her when she threatened to go public. So she ran away and joined the Gaian program. She's a bit…" Mouse made a gesture that Charlie wasn't familiar with. "…crazy."

"She sure fights like crazy." Charlie agreed.

"Commander Sky has set up a meeting for all of us after lunch." Mouse said. "So we can all get to know each other. Not sure what she has planned for you this morning."

"I better get back to my room then before they start thinking they've lost me." Charlie said, realizing that he should probably have left some sort of note or let someone know were he was. "There's about a million question I need to ask the Commander anyway. And I have to check on Archangel, of course."

Mouse grinned approvingly. "I see you got your priorities straight, man." He said and shook Charlie's hand in farewell. "Very much looking forward to working with you."

"Same here." Charlie returned the sentiment. "See you after lunch, then."


	5. The Hangar

"Good morning!"

If Alexander had been doing anything he would probably have dropped it when Claudia barged into his cell, startling him thoroughly.

When he woke a while earlier he had at first been quite disoriented. Only slowly had he remembered how Claudia had led him through a maze of corridors until they finally took a lift upwards. Claudia had at first been rather excited about introducing him to 'Snare' - who he guessed was the mecha he was supposed to pilot - but eventually she had noticed that he was pretty much asleep on his feet and instead deposited him in this cell.

It wasn't much, but it was a vast improvement compared to the cell he had called home in Professor Scorten's care. At least it had a narrow bunk, a small wardrobe build into one wall and a chair. Further investigation this morning had revealed that the extra door was leading to a tiny bathroom with a real toilet and the incredible luxury of a shower.

After spending several minutes under hot water beating down on him, he now almost felt like a human being again. He'd also used the opportunity to look at himself in the small mirror over the sink. He had lost a lot of weight, his skin was pale and there were deep circles under his eyes. He looked nothing like the healthy guy he remembered.

Then he had craned his neck to get a look at his back. He had felt the small metal sockets which now dotted his spine and those behind his ears, but this was the first time he got to see them. They looked creepy to him. He had known in theory that pilots needed some way to interface with their mechas. He'd just never thought about how exactly it worked. That was probably the reason he had never associated the sockets with piloting and the idea that Professor Scorten was trying to create pilots hadn't crossed his mind.

He had just settled down on his bed to wait for whatever would happen next when the door slid open and Claudia came in without so much as a knock. Then again, why should she knock? Alexander firmly reminded himself that she was his jailor and that to her he was nothing but a useful slave.

Then why did she have to be so sincerely cheerful and friendly?

"I thought I'd wait for you to finish your shower before I brought you breakfast." She announced with a wide grin.

Of course the cell would be monitored, Alexander thought. He hadn't considered it, but it was rather obvious they would keep close tabs on him. At least now he knew and could act accordingly.

Then he noticed that Claudia was carrying a tray with food. Not real food, but the nutrition bars looked incredibly tasty after Professor Scorten had fed his test subjects with some sort of grey jelly that kept them just as alive as he needed them. What made him sigh soundlessly with longing was the steaming mug, smelling distinctly of coffee.

Claudia immediately noticed his focus and smiled. "Thought you might something to kickstart your brain after everything you have been through." She said indulgently. 

She was making it fucking hard to despise her. Maybe he'd settle for a kind of professional hatred until she did something terrible to him so he could get emotional about it. 

He cradled the mug in his hands. Normally he didn't get sentimental about food, but now he took the time to deeply inhale the steam rising from the hot liquid. The smell was intense but also a little off. It briefly made him wonder what coffee was made of here and then quickly discard the thought. He'd be grateful for what he got.

Claudia's kindness did merit some sort of appropriate response. "Thank you." He grumbled, unused to hearing his own voice do anything but scream.

She beamed at him widely. "So you can talk! I was starting to wonder…"

Alexander realized that through all of her babbling the previous evening he had remained silent. Not out of stubbornness, but due to sheer exhaustion, though she couldn't now that of course.

"So what's your name?" she asked, over-actively bouncing on her toes.

"Alexander." He answered her question. At the same time he wondered what he was supposed to call her. At home slaves addressed their owners as master or mistress, but he had no idea how things worked here at the Conclave. And he definitely wanted to stay on her good side and win her trust. That would make it so much easier to escape. Only one way to find out really. "And what am I supposed to call you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you caught my name yesterday. I'm Claudia." She held out her hand for him to shake, which he did, surprised once more how strong her grip was.

So apparently customs were quite different here. No master would shake a slave's hand back home. Then again, she seemed to be quite unorthodox in her care for him so maybe it was just her. He quietly decided to still be careful around other people.

"Just Claudia, by the way." She added with a small smirk. "I'm still working on my doctoral thesis. The board of professors has approved the topic and I am making good progress with the research, but it's no way near ready yet."

Alexander wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, but he nodded anyway and then started chewing on a nutrition bar. It had some artificial flavour he didn't recognize, but it was solid and tasted of something so he was happy about it.

Claudia was obviously eager to get going, but she waited for him to finish half his breakfast before she asked: "So are you ready to meet Snare now?"

"I'm guessing Snare is the mecha?" Alexander asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah, big motherfucker, he is." Claudia grinned. "It will be awesome to see him back in action."

That of course brought up the obvious question. "What happened to his last pilot?"

Instead of a straight answer Claudia looked at him with a cocked head for a moment. "Do you want the official version or what I think happened?"

Just that she was willing to share such gossip with him spoke volumes to Alexander on how unsuited she really was to be his handler. Not that he was going to complain about it. He'd gratefully take every little scrap of intel he could get his hands on.

He was quite out of practice but he tried to put on something like a smile for her. "Both?"

That seemed to be the perfect reaction as Claudia grinned happily. She ushered him out of the cell, putting the remaining two nutrition bars in his hand. "Better talk on the way," she explained conspiratorially, "your cell is bugged to kingdom come." 

Once they were a few steps down the corridor she started to talk again. "Okay, so the official version is that he got sick and died from some sort of poison the treehuggers got into Snare's ventilation system." Alexander guessed that with 'treehuggers' she meant the Gaians, but didn't interrupt. "Which I think is complete bullshit. What really happened is the Professor had always been itching to ditch Snare and get into this pilot gene research thing of his. So I think he poisoned the pilot himself to make sure Snare would go inactive. Mind you, I wasn't around back then so I'm only guessing. Started my apprenticeship with the Professor a few months later and promptly got put in charge of keeping Snare polished until further notice. Been like that for three years, now." Again she grinned up at him and put a few extra bounces into her step. "And now you get to bring the old bastard back to life!"

What Alexander had seen of the Professor tender care for his fellow humans heavily supported Claudia's theory. The only thing Professor Scorten was interested in was his research and results.

Apparently his input on the matter wasn't required as Claudia happily babbled on while at the same time leading him through yet another maze of corridors. "Can't say I really mind that I had nothing to do but keep Snare ready for action. After all, that way I had plenty of time to work on my own research." She stopped in front of a bank of elevators and they got into one of them as soon as it arrived. "But I'm thinking working with you will actually be good for me. I get sidetracked so easily. Will be nice practice in staying focused."

She eyed him critically. "Don't you worry about a thing. I'll have you back in tip top shape in no time!"

Alexander wondered if maybe her exuberant enthusiasm should be a thing to worry about, but withheld judgement until further evidence was available.

Then the elevator doors opened and he gaped in awe at the gigantic hall they emerged into. The roof was at least 40 meters about them, held up by massive concre-steel columns. Open space stretched away from them, filled with a mindboggling multitude of what Alexander could only classify as clutter. Machines, machine parts, crates, barrels, containers of every shape known to man. It seemed to follow no reason at all. And along the walls, there were clearings which each housed a mecha, bathed in bright spotlights.

There were four of them. Even though he had never paid much attention to the news at home, he was able to identify two of them. He immediately recognized Arson and Black Reaper. Black Reaper because the sleek, shiny black mecha with the giant energy scythe was adored even by Legion children for its beauty. And Arson because who wouldn't remember a giant, fire-breathing turtle.

"Welcome to the Hangar." Claudia said with a wide grin, obviously delighted by his reaction.

Alexander had never been to the Hall of Heroes where the Legion mechas had their headquarter, but he was pretty sure it looked a lot more tidy then this. In fact he would have sworn any oath that the Legion kept everything in precise military order. He had no idea how anyone ever found anything around here. But probably that was a good thing or the Conclave might have won the war long ago with their superior tech.

He quickly followed Claudia who headed out into the chaos. The mecha they made their way towards was quite tall. At first Alexander wondered if it had some sort of camouflage equipment as it seemed to change colour, but when they got closer he realized that it was shining chrome and reflected the multitude of colours in the Hangar. Maybe he had never planned to become a mecha pilot, and certainly not in service to the Legion's enemies, but he had to admit Snare looked damn cool.

And it was huge. When they finally stopped near one of its feet, he had to put his head all the way back to see to the top. It wasn't sleek like Black Reaper, but quite heavy and seemed well armoured, too.

Claudia once more surprised him. "Snare, this is Alexander. He's going to be your new pilot." She introduced. "Alexander, this is Snare."

"It can hear us?!" Alexander stared at Claudia in shock. Did they have sentient mechas?

"Uhm… no." Claudia shrugged. "But I've spent so much time with him I've started talking to him…" She looked just a little embarrassed while Alexander was deeply relieved.

"So why's it called Snare?" Alexander asked the next question that came to his mind.

"Because of his fighting style." Claudia explained. "He has long chains with grappling hooks which he shoots at his opponent. Then he pulls them in and gets to work with his claws in melee." She pointed upwards to were the arms of the mecha ended in impressive claws. "You'll need a bit of practice, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."

Alexander found the whole idea of interfacing with a mecha still very strange, but it wasn't like they would give him a choice. Even the Legion wouldn't have given him a choice, now that he supposedly was pilot material.

Which brought up another question. "So… uh… what happens when you hook me in there and it turns out your Professor made some mistake and I'm not a pilot after all?"

"It varies. For some people nothing happens." Claudia answered readily. "Some get a bit of a headache, others get their brain fried. You might die, end up a complete vegetable, or maybe crippled and in constant pain?" 

Alexander stared at her in silent horror for a moment. Then he firmly reminded himself that everyone here was an insane scientist and that he needed to be more careful what questions he asked.

"So are you ready for a first test run?" Claudia asked, cheerfully unaware that she had managed to scare him quite thoroughly.

He was still trying to either come up with an excuse or enough courage to face his fate, when a new voice came to his rescue.

"Claude! There you are!" A young man emerged from between the clutter to the left of Snare. Tall and somewhat gangly, he looked just a little older than Claudia, in his very early twenties at the most. He was wearing the same coveralls that Alexander and Claudia were wearing. Dark blonde, wavy hair was cut rather messily, leaving strands hanging into his eyes.

He stopped short when he noticed Alexander. "Oh, didn't know you had a… uh… guest…?" he asked, clearly confused by Alexander's presence.

Claudia grinned at him proudly. "Not a guest! This is Alexander. He's Snare's new pilot!"

"Really?" The newcomer turned to Alexander now and one of the brightest, most mischievous smiles Alexander had ever seen appeared on his face. "Welcome, mate! I'm Dale. I'm Prometheus' pilot."

Alexander had only a brief moment to wonder at the welcome, the fact that this kid was supposed to be a mecha pilot and why he had never heard of a Conclave mecha called Prometheus, before Claudia already interrupted his thoughts.

"Actually this is Doctor Dale O'Lochlain!" she announced, putting extra emphasis on the Doctor.

So the kid wasn't just a pilot but a Doctor as well?

"Just Dale will do fine, Claude, thanks." The boy stuck out his tongue at Claudia, looking like neither a pilot nor a Doctor, but like a very undisciplined teenager.

It made Alexander wonder once more how anyone got anything done around here.

"Bah, you earned that title ten times. You can at least wear it proudly." Claudia admonished in what sounded like an argument they were having regularly. 

"But I do! Just not around fellow pilots." Dale answered, winking at Alexander, who had no idea how to react to such familiarity. "So… you are rather old for starting a pilot career. Where have you been hiding?"

Alexander wasn't sure what he was allowed to say, but luckily Claudia answered for him before he even had time to think about it. "He's one of the Legion prisoners Professor Scorten has been experimenting on. And apparently it worked on him." 

"Really?!" Dale looked astonished. "I thought it was nothing but a pipe dream of the old weasel!"

So maybe the Professor's research wasn't as secret as Alexander thought it should be.

Dale looked at Alexander rather thoughtfully. "You are not joining us voluntarily then, I guess?" he asked, sounding almost apologetic. 

"Not really, no." Alexander answered honestly. There really was no point in lying. That Dale looked quite disappointed could not be helped. He shouldn't even have cared at all about it, but these kids might be slightly insane, but they were treating him kindly enough.

"Anyway, do you have a moment?" Dale turned back to Claudia, obviously trying to change the subject quickly. "I need to lift the delta capacitator out of the main engine housing and Doctor Foster has hogged the fine-tuned hover-lift again."

"Uh, we were just getting ready to do a first test run…" Claudia looked at Alexander unsure as if she was actually asking him for permission.

Maybe it would be easier if he stopped expecting her to act like she was his mistress or handler or whatever and just went along with her easy manners. "Okay with me." He said, trying to mimic their informal speech. "I'm barely awake yet anyway." That was just an excuse of course. With the coffee coursing through his system, he was more awake than he had been since his capture. But he definitely didn't mind postponing his first interfacing with the mecha a little longer. Maybe it was cowardly and unworthy of a legionnaire, but he had been through enough shit to deserve a tiny little stay in execution, he thought.

"Awesome." Dale beamed at him gratefully and once more Alexander was startled by the sheer volume of his smile.

They headed into the chaos of the Hangar again and Alexander wondered how long it would take him to find his own way around the Hangar and the maze below it. It was truly annoying to be at Claudia's mercy in every possible way. And as long as he couldn't even find the way back to his cell his chances of escaping were zero. He tried to pay attention and get his bearings. At least the mechas were good, visible marks.

The one they were walking towards looked disconcertingly familiar. It took Alexander quite a while until he realized why. "That's a Legion mecha!" he exclaimed.

While the Conclave and the Gaian Collective built highly specialized and diverse mechas, the Legion mechas all had a similar build and look. Broad, heavily armoured and made for melee they even shared a colour scheme. The brown, gold and red was gone from this one, instead it was bright yellow and white, but the build was unmistakable.

"Was a Legion mecha." Dale corrected with a smirk. "Now he's mine."

"The Conclave stole one of our mechas for you?!" Alexander asked, deeply shocked. He wasn't even sure what he was more shocked about - the fact itself or that the Legion military had completely covered it up.

"Nope." Claudia answered with a proud grin. "Dale stole it. And modified it. And pilots it. There's a reason why he already has his Doctor title, you know…"

Alexander looked at the lanky boy again and tried in vain to bring Claudia's claim into line with the insolent, mischievous kid next to him.

"If you want, I'll tell you all about it." Dale promised. "Once we are done with that damn capacitator."

Since neither of them told him to stay away, Alexander followed them up the scaffolding on the left of the mecha. After they had climbed a few levels he could see that in the back of the torso a huge part was opened, revealing the innards of the machine. He had no clue what any of the gleaming parts did so he stayed well back.

Claudia had no such inhibitions and climbed right in, while Dale remained on the scaffolding, operating some sort of pulley, manoeuvring a large double sling on a chain to the opening.

"Right…" Claudia said. "I'm guessing the delta capacitator is the one you have already detached?"

"Yup." Dale said. "Just lift it free very gently. The wiring on the flux-inhibitor is loose and I don't want it to do any more damage than it already has."

Alexander had no idea how Claudia was going to get the sling under the machine part that she was eyeing carefully. It had to weigh at least a ton.

Then he gaped opened mouthed as Claudia pulled the sling close, leaned down and gently lifted up one side of the capacitator. It was entirely impossible that a slip of a girl like her could lift anything that heavy. And yet he was watching her do it without so much as breaking a sweat. She even held it up with one hand as she pulled the sling under it. Then she lowered it back down and completed the same manoeuvre on the other side. After pulling the slings tight, Dale started lifting the capacitator out with Claudia keeping it steady.

Alexander watched as they carefully lowered the piece of machinery to ground level and onto a heavy duty workbench which groaned under the weight as if it was trying to once more hammer home what kind of inhuman feat he had just witnessed.

Dale immediately got to work and opened up service hatches on the capacitator Alexander hadn't even seen were there. He seemed to have forgotten them, completely absorbed in his work.

"Thank you, Claudia." Claudia said with dry humour. "That was so nice of you, Claudia. I owe you one."

Dale's only reaction was a distracted: "Hn."

Claudia turned back to Alexander. His shock must have been written all over his face. "What? You look like you've seen a ghost?"

There really was no reason why he shouldn't ask. "How did you lift…" he helplessly gestured towards the capacitator, "…that?!"

"Oh." Claudia's cheerful grin reappeared. "That. I have augmented my muscles. That's my thesis. Overall it's working pretty well already. The only real problem is that my bones and tendons don't really play along yet so while my muscles could lift a lot more I would crush my own bones with the weight. Still working on that detail."

Alexander blinked at her, trying to process what he had just heard. The one thing that he finally managed to grasp was: "You are testing your thesis on yourself?!"

"Of course." Claudia snorted. "Would be a pretty crappy thesis if I didn't have enough trust in it to test it myself, wouldn't it?"

Alexander tried and failed to imagine Professor Scorten running his own cruel experiments on himself. But his method still seemed saner than what Claudia was doing. "Uh." He said not very eloquently.

There obviously was no end to the weirdness of the Conclave.


	6. Hall of Heroes

Part 6 - Hall of Heroes

If Tiberius had been asked what he found the most impressive about the pilot program at the Hall of Heroes, it wouldn't have been the Hall itself, or the military and tech personnel, who worked together with the precision of a well oil machine. It wasn't the mechas either, even though those were really amazing.

It was the accommodation he had been ushered into by Cassius and Janus, who continued to fight over his attention like two dogs worrying the same bone.

He stood at the huge panorama window in the spacious living room - bulletproof glass, nearly a foot thick, Cassius had reassured him, and on top of that one way so he could look out but no one could look in - and watched the shift from night to day-pulse of the vortex over the plaza and outlying minefield of the Hall of Heroes.

The thought that this view was what he would see every day for the rest of his life was chilling, but didn't make it any less spectacular. For fucks sake, he had a bloody whirlpool right here in his very own living room. He also had a private study with an extensive print library as well as state of the art gaming equipment, a bedroom with what he had privately termed an emperor sized bed - of course any kind of female or male company to amuse him would be provided by the Legion, Janus had informed him - a bathroom large enough to have a house party in, even a freaking dining room! 

Tiberius was no stranger to luxury, having grown up in the large villa of his father, but all of this for a single pilot when the Legion prided themselves on being frugal with their soldiers - it boggled his mind.

No less than he deserved - both Cassius and Janus had repeated.

Considering the fact that he was basically giving up his life to be the pilot they so needed, maybe they had a point.

Yesterday they had already shown him the mechas. Not that you could really overlook them. The Hall of Heroes was circular, build like an amphitheatre with a large space in the middle and rising terraces of building floors. His new apartment was located on the highest floor of course. Penthouse suite, they had called it. The open space in the middle had eight huge exits and in front of seven of these stood a mecha. The missing one had been destroyed a while ago and not been replaced due to the fact that even then they'd only had five pilots.

Like every child grown up in the Legion Tiberius could recite the names of all the mechas. Ajax, Perseus, Hercules, Achilles, Theseus, Hector, Jason, Odysseus. Theseus was the one missing currently, but Tiberius had no doubt it would be rebuild eventually.

Tiberius had also been put through more tests which had been as positive as everyone but him had hoped. There could be no doubt that he was pilot material indeed.

Later today, he was expected to pick one of the currently unused mechas. After taking a look at them Tiberius was heavily leaning towards Hector. The huge, two-handed broadsword looked reasonably easy to use for a school boy with no combat training whatsoever.

With a soft sigh, he turned away from the view and instead settled on the ridiculously large and plush leather couch and put his coffee mug back on the tray that sat on the stylish steel and glass couch table.

He was used to getting up early for school and sleeping in the new and much too big bed had let him wake up long before the shift from night to day.

Luckily, Janus had pointed out the room service to him before they left him alone last night. So he had tentatively asked whether he could get some coffee maybe. He had most politely been informed that he could have anything he desired. So he had ordered a full breakfast which been delivered by a rather cute slave girl a few minutes ago.

The coffee was excellent. The bread rolls were hot and smelled heavenly; the selection of cheese, cold meats and fruit jams was astounding. There really was nothing to complain about. Apart from the fact that he was completely overwhelmed by it all.

He picked up one of the fresh croissants and looked at it for a moment, wondering whether he would be able to stomach it. Then he bit into it with all the contempt a Legion soldier was expected to feel for the enemy. It was quite delicious. After he had eaten half of it, his appetite returned full force and he realized that the queasy feeling most probably had been due to hunger. He had missed all meals yesterday.

Methodically, Tiberius decimated the food on offer, stacking his bread rolls high with cheese, meats and some of the deco fruit. The second croissant he kept for last, smothering it in sweet, dark fruit jam. 

When he was done, the light had fully shifted to day, painting the expensive parquetry floor in shining red-gold. With a happy sigh, he leaned back and rubbed his full belly. So maybe not all was bad.

For a moment, he managed to relax in his post-feeding-frenzy happiness, but then he grew restless. Sitting around and waiting made him nervous. Neither of his two overzealous security fans had mentioned when they would reappear and what other appointments he would have today. They also hadn't told him whether he was supposed to stay in his quarters or was allowed to roam the Hall of Heroes. He had been equipped with a security ID card already, so he supposed he wasn't confined. 

There was really only one way to find out. The door to his apartment opened smoothly when he tried and a quick peak outside showed him that there were no guards posted. So he ventured outside, feeling a little naughty but at the same time intensely curious. Two soldiers passing by nodded at him politely as if he had every right to go wherever he wanted. That they seemed to recognize him even though he had only arrived yesterday was a little disconcerting.

With his apartment located on the uppermost floor, he came out straight onto the balcony running around the middle space of the hall, looking down over the lower tiers and getting a great view of the mechas from above. 

Hector was parked at the gateway to the left of his quarters, which would probably come in handy if he ever needed to get to the mecha really quickly. He was standing with his huge two-handed sword resting tip down in front of him, with both hands on the pommel. The mecha looked ridiculously huge and the thought of controlling something of this size felt ludicrous to Tiberius. The techs working on the mechas even at this early hour looked like insects crawling over them.

He walked along the balcony until he was standing as close to Hector as he could get. He could even see the entry hatch to the cockpit from here. The cockpit of course had no windows. He would be hooked directly into the mecha's sensors. That, after all, was the reason why pilots were so rare. Only very few brains could withstand the weird stress of interfacing with a machine.

The thought made him realize that he would also have to undergo surgery for them to install the interfacing hardware. With a small shudder he felt behind is ears where the sockets would go.

He had no way to say no, but that didn't make it any less creepy.

Luckily, his gloomy thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a commotion on the ground level. Tiberius curiously leaned over the railing to get a better view. Three of the same type of elite legionnaires who had accompanied him yesterday were dragging someone in through the main entrance. Tiberius was too far away to get a clear picture, but he did notice long, fiery red hair and strangely primitive leather clothes. The legionnaires seemed to have a hard time controlling their prisoner, even though there were three of them and their captive was bound. By the time they reached another doorway, turning back into the lowest tier of the Hall, Tiberius was pretty sure it was a young man they were bringing here.

Why, he had no clue. It probably was none of his business. It took him only a few heartbeats to decide to follow them to find out more.

His plan was short lived, though. Distracted as he was, he almost ran straight into the man who was coming up behind him.

"There you are." A rather gruff voice greeted him. 

The man the voice belonged to a grizzled, older legionnaire with the insignia of a commander on his epaulettes. He looked like he had seen plenty of combat, but there also were laugh lines around his eyes and mouth that made Tiberius feel like he was dealing with a man who at his core was a nice guy.

"I've been looking for you." The Commander continued. "Was hoping to get a word with you before those security weasels descended on you again."

That he was referring to Cassius and Janus with the same term Tiberius had mentally assigned them and wasn't afraid to say so out loud instantly raised him several notched in Tiberius regard.

"I wanted to look at Hector, sir." Tiberius tried to explain his absence from his quarters. Adding the honorific felt like the proper thing to do. After all, this man was the first he met here who actually seemed worthy of some respect.

The legionnaire smiled. "Ah, so you have already made up your mind." He looked at the mecha they were standing next to. "Not the flashiest choice, but a good one. I'm Commander Darius Braga." He introduced himself. "I'm in charge of training the pilots."

"A pleasure to meet you, sir." Tiberius returned the greeting. He had a feeling that working with a hard but honest soldier would be much easier than with the intrigue-happy security weasels or politicians like his father.

The Commander looked surprised at this honest enthusiasm. Maybe he had expected the son of a senator to be a spoiled little princess. But then he smiled. "Well, they have your surgery planned for late afternoon. And I'm guessing the weasels will want to spend as much time with you as they possibly can. How about I give you an extended tour of the place and show you what is what?"

"Sounds great, sir." Tiberius put on his most eager smile. Anything to escape the tender clutches of Cassius and Janus. "When will I get to meet the other pilots?"

Darius expression changed to a pained frown. "I'm sure Lucius will make an appearance as soon as possible to ensure you know that he is and always will be the best around here and that you better not get in his way."

Of course Tiberius knew that name. Lucius Seneca was the Hero of the Legion. He had been the last pilot to be discovered in one of the school testings years ago. Nowadays he was what every Legion boy strove to be. With his mecha Perseus, he always completed the most daring missions, his good looks and charisma made him a perfect candidate for all the interviews and posters. He was the face that everyone put to the mecha program.

Actually, Tiberius realized, he had no idea what the names of the other pilots were or what they looked like. But if they only had two pilots currently that meant there was just one more besides Lucius. Tiberius wasn't even sure which mecha he piloted. 

Obviously Lucius would consider Tiberius, the new thing and the son of a senator on top, to be a threat to his status.

Luckily, he had the best source of advice on how to handle the man walking right next to him. "So what should I do when he does show up?" he asked.

That apparently scored major point with Commander Darius. "I would suggest be non-confrontational but firm. You will never get any respect from Lucius, but once you have proven your worth in battle, you can face him on a more even footing."

Tiberius nodded. That was pretty much what he had thought himself. "What about the other pilot?" he asked.

Commander Darius looked even more pained. "He is currently in solitary confinement until Cassius decides that he is not a security risk to this installation." He answered through gritted teeth.

Tiberius blinked at him, trying to comprehend what he was hearing. "Uh… what…?" he asked not very intelligently.

The Commander sighed. "There's a lot of stuff going on here that does not get to the media, son. Most importantly, apart from Lucius we don't have any voluntary pilots anymore. Toni a convicted thief. He can not really be trusted so he is kept on a tight leash by our in-house security experts."

He didn't exactly sound like he thought that was a smart way to handle the matter and Tiberius agreed. Locking up pilots - no matter what background they came from - surely was no way to make them fight at their full capacity. On the other hand, he was no expert on military discipline, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Once your training progresses to group fighting, you will definitely meet him." Commander Darius continued. "Until then…" He raised his hands in a defeated gesture. "It's not in my hands." 

He clearly wasn't happy with the situation. It made Tiberius wonder if he had any way to use his favour with the two security officers to get them release the two men.

"What did he do to get locked up anyway?" he asked curiously.

Commander Darius looked grim. "He had objections to the way Cassius handled the deaths of those two pilots last month. I suggest you ask Cassius about it. I'm sure it will teach you some valuable lessons."

Apparently things were not as shiny happy at the Hall of Heroes as the media made the public believe. What an incredible surprise, Tiberius thought cynically.


	7. Snare

Alexander settled into Snare's pilot seat as slowly as humanly possible. The chair looked way too much like one of Professor Scorten's torture devices. It was padded and comfortable, but the thin metal line in the back where the prongs would slot into his back and the headpiece looked incredibly threatening. At least here in the cockpit there was no one but himself he was trying to hide his fear from. The fact that he was not wearing a shirt to expose the sockets in his back made him feel even more vulnerable to the machine around him.

Being scared sucked.

It was not a feeling he was familiar with and he wasn't sure how to deal with it.

Even in combat as a legionnaire, he had never been this afraid. Probably because he had never really grasped what was a risk. Now that he knew what extent of pain his body was capable of feeling, he desperately didn't want to feel it again.

At the same time this sudden cowardice irked him to no end and he was quite grateful that no one could see him.

"All right, lean back please."

No one but Claudia. 

At least she wasn't inside the cockpit with him. She was on the ground next to Snare's left foot with an array of screens and controls, monitoring both him and the mecha. Her voice came over the speakers mounted inside the cockpit.

Drawing a deep breath, Alexander forced himself to lean back.

"Hn. Your heart rate is really high. Can you try to calm down a little?" Claudia's voice asked.

Alexander had never been good with snarky replies so he tried for snarly instead. "Maybe I'm a little worried you are going to fry my brain with this thing?" The tremor in his voice showed clearly how scared he was. Maybe the speakers were raspy enough not to let Claudia hear.

"I can assure you Snare is in top condition." She answered, sounding rather indignant. There was a little pause and then she said sheepishly: "Oh… you mean you are worried it might fry you because you are not a pilot after all?"

No point in denying it. "Yes."

He was prepared to be ridiculed. Such a big, bad legionnaire, scared. 

Instead Claudia said: "You really don't have to worry about that. Professor Scorten would never have let you out of that lab if he wasn't 200% sure you are a success. He'd never live down a failure like that among his colleagues."

That was actually rather credible reassurance.

"I know, relaxing is hard when someone tells you to just do it." Claudia continued. "Rest your hands on your thighs, palm up. Find a point to look at. And then breathe, slowly."

It sounded like some ridiculous ritual, but there really was no harm in trying. Alexander followed Claudia's instructions.

"In. And out. In. And out." Her voice continued to lead him and amazingly he slowly felt himself relax into the soft padding of the seat. "Very good. You're doing great."

Some sarcastic voice in the back of his head commented on how ridiculous it was that a grown up man like him would allow himself to be calmed by the voice of a little girl. That voice suspiciously sounded like the drill sergeant in his first month of legionnaire training. He deliberately turned it off. 

"Let me know when you are ready for me to activate the interface." Claudia said.

The simple fact that she was letting him decide the when calmed him down even more. He slowly let his gaze wander through the cockpit to familiarize himself with it. There wasn't a whole lot to see. A few screens, a few controls that could be used by techs to run maintenance on the mecha. Everything was squeaky clean and neat. Whatever problems with spreading chaos around her Claudia might have, Snare was an example for perfect order.

"I think I'm ready." He said aloud, before he could lose his nerve again.

"Okay, engaging system now." Claudia replied immediately.

Alexander grit his teeth as the prongs slipped into the sockets in his back and behind his ears with a click that seemed way too loud to him. He waited for the pain to start, for the weird sparks that had always appeared in his vision as soon as Professor Scorten engaged his infernal machines. Nothing happened. Only a growing pressure in his lungs.

"Keeping breathing, Alexander." Claudia's voice reminded him and he realized that he had been holding his breath. Deep breathing immediately relieved the pressure.

"All readings within normal parameters." Claudia informed him, sounding quite pleased. "I will engage the interface now. At first I will keep you limited to sensor input so you can get used to Snare's body. Then I will slowly release the controls to you." Claudia explained.

Alexander wanted to acknowledge that, but before he could speak, his whole world suddenly changed.

There was a brief moment of complete lack of any sensation at all. Then his eyes cleared again and he found himself looking out over the Hangar. Only now, he could clearly make out all the various parts scattered throughout, the dim light no longer a hindrance. The moment he focused on a random item, a small script at the bottom left of his vision identified it as a fuel barrel, 58% full. He stared at that script feeling somewhat unsettled and immediately it expanded, giving him a menu of possible uses and the option to highlight all other fuel barrels in his sight.

He deliberately looked away from the barrel and the extra information disappeared.

That was actually easier than he had thought.

Then he realized that he was seeing through Snare's sensors. And that it wasn't creepy at all. It felt perfectly natural. The uneven hammering that he had been hearing all the time they were walking around the Hangar was still there, but now he was able to zoom in to it and get got a visual of a large, beefy man with short black hair, working on a piece of hardware close to another mecha. Rudolph Craine, assistant to Doctor Foster, in charge of Grim Reaper, the display at the edge of his vision immediately identified the man and the mecha. 

Alexander let his gaze sweep through the Hangar, amazed at the sheer amount of information suddenly so easily available.

"Are you okay? Your heart rate is a little high." Claudia's voice sounded decidedly odd as he was hearing it double, with his own ears and with Snare's sensors.

He tried to answer her and realized that Snare had no mouth to talk with. For a moment he panicked as he couldn't find his own body and mouth to use.

"Easy, Alexander. Easy." Claudia immediately spoke up. "Your own body is still there. You can still talk. Just don't rush yourself. Most pilots at first find it hard to speak while jacked in."

He couldn't really sense his body, but obviously he was still breathing and his ears were working just fine or he wouldn't hear Claudia double like that. He just had to somehow find the connection to make a sound.

"Urh…" his own voice said.

Claudia laughed. "There you go. That was quick."

Not precisely speech, but at least it was kind of working. 

"Okay, are you ready for me to release control over the head?" Claudia asked. "You will be able to turn it, but not much else. Once you are ready, make some sort of sound."

"Dee." Alexander answered immediately. Closer but not quite a 'ready'. Claudia understood anyway.

"Releasing motor control over head." She announced.

Nothing seemed to change. Then Alexander realized that obviously he needed to try and move the head for anything to happen. It was a simple as moving his own head. Actually it felt exactly like moving his own head. He slowly turned from left to right and then angled down a little to catch a glimpse of where Claudia was sitting in the nest of her equipment. She looked impossibly small.

He realized that once he had full control of Snare, he could simply step on her. She probably wasn't supposed to be this close to danger with the wristband that controlled the chip in his brain. Of course he would have to learn how to properly use Snare before he tried to escape. And even then… somewhat chagrined he realized that already he was fond of Claudia. She was the first friendly face he had seen since his capture. The first who treated him like a person instead of a lab rat. Surely he would find a way to escape that didn't involve hurting her.

"Very good." She acknowledged. "All readings are perfectly stable. "Told you there was nothing to be scared of."

"Es." He agreed.

She was right. He was feeling fine. He actually wanted more. Wanted to see how this new, huge, powerful body would feel when he had full control of it.

"Ore?" he asked.

"Uh… what…?" Claudia replied, looking up to Snare's head. "Oh… more." Again she laughed happily. "Sure. Let's start with arms, shall we? That way you don't have to pay any attention to keeping your balance."


	8. The Den

"Harry? Harry, come on. You can't sleep all day."

Charlie insistently tugged on the blanket that his friend had defiantly pulled over his head.

"Grmwa." Harry mumbled from somewhere inside his protective fort.

Having dealt with him often enough when he was hung over, Charlie was able to decipher it as 'go away'.

"No, I'm not going away." He told the blanket bundle. "You've missed lunch already." He settled on the bedside. "I've brought you something against the headache. You just have to sit up a little for me, so you can drink it."

Knowing that Harry was by habit a night-pulse creature, Charlie had let his friend sleep in. Especially considering the quantities of alcohol Harry had consumed at the party. But now it was past lunch and he had hoped that Harry would accompany him to the meeting with Commander Sky and the other pilots. He had wanted to introduce his friend, make sure everyone knew right from the start that the two of them were a team.

Looking down at Harry, it was pretty obvious that wouldn't happen. But Charlie at least wanted to get the vile smelling herb tea into his friend, which a gracious medic downstairs in the infirmary had given him. The chemical painkillers the Conclave manufactured were effective, but Charlie still remembered fondly how easily the herb brews of his mother had fulfilled the same functions.

Once more he tried to unwrap Harry with just as little success. Considering his friend's condition, he was holding on amazingly tightly.

"Looks like he enjoyed the party." Mouse's deep voice said from the entrance.

Charlie looked over and found the other pilot leaning against the doorframe, grinning. He sighed. "Yeah, he has a bit of a weakness for all things that make you happy." He answered.

Mouse chuckled. "You better watch him closely, then. Plenty of that around here. Are you coming?"

"Harry, I'll leave the tea right here on your nightstand." Charlie told the unresponsive blanket bundle. "When I get back and you still haven't drunk it, I swear I will personally pour it down your throat."

"Grlo."

'Get lost', Charlie translated in his mind. Shaking his head he got up, left Harry's room and pulled the door closed behind him and Mouse. It was located across from his own so he wouldn't have to go far to keep harassing his friend.

"Thought I'd come look for you and show you the way." Mouse offered as explanation for his presence.

"Thank you." Charlie smiled at the big man, happy that apparently he would find new friends among the pilots here.

Together, they made there way to the ground level of the Den and then to a spacious room adjoining the garden. It was equipped with a large table and chairs for actual briefings, but also with several couches. The only visible tech was a bulky holo-projector, mounted on one wall. It could just as well have been a dining and living room as a briefing room for pilots. There even was an extra table with refreshments.

A young woman sat with her legs curled up under her on one of the couches, reading an old fashioned paper book. She was slender, with wavy blonde hair and rather pretty. Charlie remembered that she had been introduced as a pilot to him as well, but again couldn't recall the name. She looked up when they walked in and smiled shyly.

Probably not the ex-Legion pilot Mouse had spoken of earlier, Charlie guessed. Much too friendly.

"Hi, I'm Charlie." He introduced himself, walking over to her to offer his hand.

For a moment she looked startled, but then she shook his hand with a firm grip. "Olivia." She answered. "I'm Mantis' pilot."

"Oh wow! Mantis is really awesome." Charlie was genuinely impressed. Mantis was a masterwork of the peculiar mix of tech and biotech the Gaian Collective employed. Its armour was chitin-based and able to change colour, blending in with the surroundings and creating a very good camouflage. The name came more from the long, razor sharp blades its arms ended in. In itself already a dangerous mecha, but Charlie had seen it fight. Olivia was piloting it expertly.

Olivia blushed at his honest compliment. "Thank you." She visibly sought after something more to say and then added. "Archangel is pretty cool, too." Her face took on a wishful cast. "It must be wonderful to fly."

"It is." Charlie agreed. "I'd offer you a ride, but I'm told it's not really fun crammed into the cockpit with nothing much to see."

"Thanks for the offer anyway." 

Again they lapsed into silence and Olivia picked her book back up. Mouse plonked himself down on the couch opposite from Olivia's. He'd grabbed two bottles of beer from the food table and offered one to Charlie.

"No, thanks. I need to watch the alcohol." Charlie declined politely. "It messes with my interfacing big time. Already had way too much last night."

"You better let the medics know that." A new voice from the entrance said. "So they don't mix stuff into your food they consider beneficial while it might interfere with your tech."

The owner of the voice was a tall man in his late thirties. Like the other two pilots he was dressed in comfortable slacks and t-shirt. Short brown hair, a well trimmed beard and a small scar running along the left side of his jaw made him look rather severe. He did smile however, when he had Charlie's attention.

"Raphael Sky." He introduced himself. Charlie's thoughts must have been clearly written in his face, as he immediately added. "Yes, Clan Sky. Diana is my sister."

The Sky Clan had founded the Gaian Collective and given a refuge to also those who would bow neither to the Legion's military might nor the inhuman curiosity of the Conclave. They were revered leaders. Charlie hadn't known one of them was also a pilot.

"It's an honour to meet you, sir." He greeted Raphael, but was waved off.

"Please, just call me Raphael. I'm just a pilot now." He said and settled on the couch next to Mouse, picking up the bottle of beer that Charlie had refused.

Charlie wasn't entirely sure, but he could have sworn he detected a hint of bitterness in Raphael's voice. The other man smiled kindly enough, though, so probably he had been mistaken.

He didn't have time to dwell on it as the next arrival announced himself.

"Well, hello there, handsome." A rough female voice greeted him.

The woman who had entered the room was tall and athletic, her hair hacked short without any care on how it looked and her face was crisscrossed by several scars which pulled her mouth into a perpetual sneer. So that was probably the ex-Legion woman, Lena, he guessed. He wasn't quite sure what to make of her choice of words.

"Hi." He greeted her cautiously. "I'm Charlie."

She reacted with a feral grin. "Don't looked worried, kid. I ain't gonna climb into any man's pants any time soon."

Charlie glanced at Mouse and Raphael for some sort of clue. Mouse shrugged, covertly repeating that gesture he had made earlier, when he told Charlie about Lena's mental condition. Raphael looked unperturbed as well, so Charlie decided to follow Lena's advise and not worry.

He was about to pay her some compliment about her mecha Hound, when once more they were interrupted by another arrival. This time it was Commander Natalie Sky who walked in and looked at the pilots under her command with a quite satisfied smile.

She skipped any kind of greeting. "We have a major vortex flotsam impact west of Legion territory." She announced. "I know you were supposed to get to know each other first, but I'm afraid we are going to skip that part. Raphael, Lena, Mouse and Charlie, get your asses to your mechas, you are going out. You are the fastest and you have to cover a lot of ground. Olivia, your are staying home to guard the base in case some Conclave eggheads think they can steal Dr. Jackson back."


	9. Hall of Heroes, Infirmary

Tiberius woke up wondering why his mother had sneaked into his room and put on such weird, tinkling piano music to wake him up. 

His head felt like it was packed tightly in soft cotton and it took him quite a while to remember that he wasn't at home in his room. He wasn't even in the much too huge bed in his pilot suite. The last thing he remembered was a surgeon smiling down at him and telling him not to worry about a thing. 

Considering how few pilots the Legion had, the man seemed pretty confident that he would be able to poke around in Tiberius' brain to install the interface gear without breaking anything vital. Then again, he probably had trained this countless times. If he did break a pilot with that surgery he'd probably be skinned alive by Legion command.

Tiberius didn't feel any pain, but that was probably due to a generous dose of painkillers. He slowly blinked his eyes open. The light was blessedly muted and the tinkling music was kind of soothing, now that he was aware that it wasn't some elaborate prank by his mother. The wake-up room of the infirmary was painted in soft blue and the beds looked more like proper beds than high tech hospital things. 

Overall, he was feeling pretty well. He curiously raised his hand and felt behind his ears. His fingers found thick spray bandage. When he pressed against it, it felt vaguely uncomfortable but not painful. His mind rapidly cleared from the residual effects of anaesthetic. He turned his head to see if anyone was close by waiting for him to wake up.

What he did not expect to find was the bed next to his occupied by another unconscious person. Especially not the red-haired young man he had seen earlier being dragged around by those elite legionnaires.

Now that he was right next to the guy he could see that he was just a few years older than Tiberius himself. His fiery red hair was matched with a small beard on his chin. His left cheekbone was decorated by a dark blue tribal tattoo, the arms resting on the blanket had similar tattoos but also fresh bruises. 

From the tattoos, Tiberius guessed that he was from of one of the savage tribes outside Legion territory, who refused to bow to Legion rule. They were regularly hunted by slave raiders who worked for those traders who wanted to supplement their stock by more exotic wares than the Legion bred slaves. Judging from his earlier behaviour, this one was freshly captured. That didn't explain though why he was at the Hall of Heroes and more specifically here at the infirmary.

There really was only one reason Tiberius could think of why he would be here. He should probably have stayed flat on his back until someone came to check on him, but his curiosity got the better of him. He sat up slowly. When his head didn't protest much, he leaned over to the other bed enough to get a closer look at the head of the red-head. Like he had guessed he found thick spray-bandages peeking out from behind his ears, just like his own.

Tiberius smiled. So the savage was a pilot, too. Somehow the thought that he wouldn't have to deal with all this newness on his own was reassuring. Of course all of this would be even more confusing and new to the other young man. He probably had no idea what was happening to him and what was expected of him now. It was very likely that he wouldn't willingly submit to serving the people who had just stolen him from his home as a pilot. Knowing the Legion, they would have methods to make him obey.

Still Tiberius couldn't help but hope that he would somehow manage to win the other fresh pilot's friendship. Neither of them really wanted to be here. Maybe that would help them find a common ground.

His attention was drawn away from his musings by voices from outside the room. He realized he had heard them since he woke up, but so far they had been too quiet to intrude. Now, though, they were rising in volume. 

One he recognized as belonging to Commander Darius: "…is ridiculous! We have a major vortex flotsam impact just inches from our border and we are forced to watch the treehuggers grab it from under our noses. You WILL release Toni to me!"

The other one answered something Tiberius didn't quite catch.

"Bullshit!" Darius snarled in reply. "Of course he was upset you blew off Marius' head right in front of him. Which I still think was a complete over-reaction on your part!"

"He attacked me!" Definitely Cassius' voice, Tiberius thought.

Who the hell was Marius and why had Cassius blown his head off?

"That was no reason to kill him! You fucking killed one of our precious pilots!" Darius sounded close to bodily attacking Cassius himself. "Come to think of it, that is probably what I should tell High Command when they ask me why we have one single bloody mecha ready for action right now!"

"You wouldn't dare! You know that High Command…" Cassius started, but was immediately interrupted by Darius.

"Oh really? I'm pretty sure Janus will back me up on this. Actually, he will be delighted when they come and get you."

A baleful silence followed.

"How long until Tiberius and the savage will be ready for active duty?" Cassius then asked, much more quietly, but still loud enough for Tiberius to hear, now that he was listening.

"If everything goes exceptionally well? Two or three weeks." Darius answered. "Damn it, Cassius. Let me deal with Toni. With Archangel in Gaian hands, it brings them up to five fully trained pilots and mechas. They could kick our asses into the vortex if they knew how shorthanded we are right now."

Cassius didn't sound happy, but he said. "Alright. I will release him to you. But both I and Janus will keep a close eye on discipline. On that savage, too!"

"Of course." Darius agreed.

Tiberius kept listening, but apparently that was the end to their argument. So the Legion's mecha program was in seriously bad shape. No wonder then that they were treating him like royalty. They really badly needed another loyal pilot. 

He leaned back against the headboard of his bed. Considering that he had just had he head opened and poked around in, he was feeling really good. And quite hungry. He hadn't been allowed to eat anything before surgery. He was just starting to look for some sort of call button to get a nurse when the door to the wake-up room was opened gently and the broad frame of Commander Darius slipped inside.

The Commander stopped when he noticed that Tiberius was wide awake already, but then he plastered what was probably supposed to be a friendly smile on his face. It did look a bit pained still, small surprise considering the conversation Tiberius had just overheard.

Darius came over to Tiberius bed and sat in a chair, conveniently placed next to it for visitors. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Splendid, actually." Tiberius answered with a much more cheerful smile. "Who was Marius?" he then asked.

"Uh… so you heard us…" Darius grimaced unhappily.

Tiberius nodded and then winced at a sharp sting of pain behind his ears. Even though the painkillers were doing one of hell of a job, he should still better remember that someone had drilled holes into his head. No sudden movements, he told himself.

"I thought I would have preferred if you had this conversation with Cassius, but all things considered, maybe it's better if you get the unedited version after all." Darius said. "Marius was one of the two pilots who died last month. Only he did not die in battle, like the official reports say. He came back very much alive and very angry. He blamed Cassius for the death of the other pilot due to faulty intelligence they had been given before the mission. It was a rather ugly scene with everyone shouting and pointing at each other and then Marius lunged at Cassius, Cassius drew his gun and shot him in the head before anyone else could react."

Not quite as sinister as Tiberius had started to imagine, but still ugly enough. How were they supposed to defend the Legion when they were instead shooting each other?

"There was a lot more shouting and then Cassius took Toni into custody to 'enforce his loyalty'." Darius continued, making air quotes with his fingers. "Which is his version of saying he is going to starve him and give him some sound beatings. To make sure they remember who is boss."

"I see he is big on the team building efforts." Tiberius commented with plenty of sarcasm. He was sure that Darius wouldn't mind.

The Commander smiled at him. "I think I like you, kid," he said. "You could be a big help in getting Toni back into the fold. Lucius treats him like dirt under his fingernails."

"Well," Tiberius shrugged, "I can't promise I'll make a half decent pilot, but I can sure try to be the mortar to get something like a team going here." After all that was what he had always done at school, too. He liked people to get along. Thoughtfully he looked over at the other bed, where the red-haired savage was still unconscious. "What about him?" he asked.

"He is a gift sent by Zeus." Darius said. "Two new pilots in one week… we really are blessed."

Tiberius snorted. He wasn't the religious type. "I was more thinking along the lines of how to keep him from getting his head blown off. I wouldn't be too happy to be here in his shoes."

That put quite the dampener on Darius mood. The Commander tiredly rubbed his face. "We'll think of something. I hope." He said. "Now, do you want to stay here or should I get a doctor so you maybe can check out and go back to your quarters? I imagine you'll be more comfortable there."

Even though Tiberius was tempted to stay until the red-head woke up and maybe make a favourable first impression straight away, he decided against it. Sooner or later the strain put on his body by the surgery would catch up to him and being in his quarters then sounded too attractive to resist. He also really wanted to call his mother and let her know everything was fine. Well, fine with him, anyway.

"That sounds pretty great, sir." He said.

Darius nodded. After he had gotten up he took the moment to squeeze Tiberius' shoulder encouragingly. "We'll get this mess sorted, kid." He said. "The Legion is counting on us."

Tiberius bit back his comments on how it was pretty lame for the Legion to have to trust in the new kid to repair all the shit it had fucked up. He'd do his best. Not for the Legion, but for himself and those other pilots who didn't deserve being here more than he did.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a little ridiculous how good Alexander was feeling, but he had decided not to care about it anymore. All his worries about being a pilot had pretty much died the moment he took his first step forward with Snare. The sheer power at his command was exhilarating to the point where he was feeling it like a physical rush of pleasure.

Claudia had carefully monitored him while he took Snare on a walk outside the Hangar. He hadn't been allowed to run yet, but he could feel it already. He had done some simple combat moves which translated reasonably well from the training his own body had received to the mecha. Swiping at invisible enemies with claws large enough to tear apart a large building was plain sexy.

When Claudia had called him back in he had been reluctant to stop. He had been a little embarrassed when the interface disengaged and he found himself with a raging hard-on. Since his capture he hadn't even thought of sex, much less felt anything. Now he was horny as hell and Claudia was hovering over him like a worried mother hen. Luckily, in a rare instant of brilliance, he had found an excuse with desperately needing a toilet break.

Hastily jerking off reminded him of being a school boy years ago, but it felt too good to complain.

Afterwards he docilely allowed Claudia to run various scans on him. She was quite happy with her results. Most of her babbling meant nothing to him, but he did understand that piloting the mecha hadn't had any ill effects and that he was reasonably healthy, considering the time he had spent in Professor Scorten's care.

"So how do you feel about grabbing dinner?" Claudia asked, after she had shut down the last of her equipment.

Alexander's stomach reacted with a loud growl. Somehow he hadn't even noticed how the hours had flown by and that they had skipped lunch while he was playing with Snare.

"Sounds good to me." He said.

They headed off into the chaos of the Hangar once more, but now Alexander had a much easier time orienting himself. Getting a good long look at the place from a top view had helped him greatly in making sense of it. What had looked like completely random clutter was actually sorted, albeit in a fashion that made little sense to him. After everything he had seen of the insane scientists working here, it probably was perfectly sensible and neat to them.

It was a little disconcerting how settled he felt. He knew he should not be fraternizing with Claudia the way he was, but there just wasn't anything he could fault her for. She was treating him like a friend and she was too honest and too bad at lying to fake it. Luckily, none of his Legion comrades or commanders could see him now or would ever learn of his inappropriate behaviour.

They had nearly reached the elevator that would take them down to the maze of tunnels, labs and living quarters beneath the Hangar when a blaring alarm claxon made Alexander jump.

"Oh crud!" Claudia groaned. "Why now?!"

She seemed more annoyed than worried so Alexander assumed it didn't mean they were being attacked. "What is that?" he asked.

"That means Doctor Lunay is calling a meeting because there has been a vortex flotsam impact." Claudia explained.

"And who is Doctor Lunay?" Alexander asked the next obvious question.

Claudia turned away from the elevators and instead followed the wall of the Hangar. "She's the resident tactical genius." She replied. "She's in charge of designing missions. You are nowhere near ready to go out on a mission, yet, but I guess we are expected to attend anyway." She shrugged unhappily. "Well, I am expected anyway. Do you want to go ahead and grab dinner on your own?"

So pilots didn't attend mission briefings? How curious, Alexander thought. Then again, each pilot did seem to have a scientist in charge of the mecha. Apart from Dale, who was pilot and scientist at once. If Claudia was any indication those scientists stayed in constant contact with their pilots so they likely would give them the data they needed on the run.

"I have no clue where to find dinner." Alexander said.

"Argh, right. I'm sorry." Claudia immediately apologized. "I really should have given you a tour of the most important parts around here. I just was so excited about Snare…"

Alexander found himself smiling at her reassuringly. "It's okay. I'm glad you made me bite the bullet and jack into Snare. I really enjoyed it. Do you think I would be allowed to join you in that meeting?" It would be quite useful to see how the Conclave handled their military operations.

"Sure, can't see why not." Claudia nodded.

They arrived at a rather rickety looking metal staircase leading up along the side of the Hangar wall. Alexander could see that it ended at a door. Next to it there was a large window. They made their way up there and into the room behind the window. It was crammed full with the usual high tech equipment and also held a large conference table with several chairs around it.

A dark haired, coffee skinned woman was standing at the head of the table. She wore the same ever present coveralls as everybody else. Alexander guessed her to be in her late forties. She wore wire-rimmed glasses and a perpetual frown.

"Ah, Claudia." The dark woman greeted Claudia and completely ignored Alexander. "You didn't really need to come, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Sit, girl."

"Yes, Doctor Lunay." Alexander was pretty sure that Claudia addressed her solely to give him a clue to who the woman was. She settled into one of the chairs, looking rather uncomfortable. Since no one had invited him to sit, Alexander took up a spot behind her chair, trying to look as unobtrusive as possible. 

Doctor Lunay impatiently paced back and forth at the head of the table. It didn't take long for Dale to arrive, accompanied by another woman. This one was tiny, slender and wore the grim expression of a school teacher who delighted in trashing her students. Her greying hair was pulled back into a tight bun.

"Doctor O'Lochlain, Doctor Foster." Doctor Lunay greeted the two with a sarcastic sneer. "So kind of you to join us."

So the woman was in charge of Grim Reaper. That meant whoever was in charge of Arson was still missing.

"Are we in a hurry or something?" Dale asked and plopped himself down in a chair, obviously entirely unperturbed.

The whole scene was surreal to Alexander. A mission briefing at the Legion consisted of an officer giving order and everyone else following them. Not this casual… he wasn't even sure what to call it.

"Right, let's get started then." Doctor Lunay activated a holo display imbedded into the table. It showed the topographic map of the impact site. Alexander recognized it as a hill formation west of Legion territory. Quite close to the border actually. Apparently no one expected the scientist in charge of Arson to show up. Just another incomprehensible weirdness of Conclave procedure. 

"It's a grade 4 impact." Doctor Lunay explained, circling the actual site with a light pen. "With Legion forces down to two active mechas we can assume that they will not show up to the party."

Alexander suppressed the shocked sound that wanted to escape him. The Legion only had two active mechas? How had that happened?

Doctor Lunay continued, not noticing his reaction. "However we can be sure that the Gaians will be there in force, now that they boast five mechas. We should send everyone we have available and hope the treehuggers don't do the same."

"Do you really think they will send out Archangel already?" Dale asked. "He's been there barely a day."

Doctor Foster glared at him. "Why wouldn't they? Unlike us they can be sure of his loyalty."

"Oh, come on! You can't blame Charlie for wanting to go home!" Dale exclaimed.

He was cut short by Foster immediately: "I'm not blaming the pilot. I'm blaming Doctor Jackson! He's a traitor!"

"You wouldn't recognize friendship if it bit you in the ass." Dale growled.

"A sentimental fool and a traitor then." Doctor Foster commented icily.

Their bickering was unbelievable to Alexander. It would have resulted in people getting shot in a Legion meeting. Here it seemed to be perfectly acceptable.

"Can we please get back to the flotsam impact?" Doctor Lunay seemed to think the same as Alexander. Only she phrased it a lot more politely.

"There isn't much to discuss, is there?" Foster asked. "I get my pilot and we head out."

Dale looked like there were several things he wanted to argue about, but instead he just slumped in his chair and looked broody.

Alexander wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"All in favour for attempting to secure the flotsam raise your hands, please." Doctor Lunay said.

They were taking a vote? They were taking a fucking vote about it? How did these people ever get anything done? How was it possible that the Legion hadn't wiped them off the face of the earth ages ago?

Lunay herself and Foster raised their hands. Both of them glared at Dale who finally raised his hand as well. Why he had hesitated Alexander had no clue.

"I trust you will inform Professor Miller of our decision?" Lunay asked.

"No, we will just sneak out and let him figure out on his own where we have gone." Foster replied sarcastically.

That apparently wasn't worth a reply to anyone, since they all got up and left. Alexander followed Claudia out and back down to the Hangar.

"Do all meetings go like this?" he asked cautiously.

Claudia shrugged. "It was my first one. But normally they take much longer so I guess this went pretty smoothly."

She seemed entirely unperturbed. Like there was nothing wrong at all. Then again, from her perspective, there wasn't. She had never seen how a disciplined military worked.

"So do you want to watch them head out or shall we go grab that dinner now?" Claudia asked.

Both were tempting prospects. It was his loudly growling stomach who decided for Alexander. And the hope that maybe he would get to ask Claudia a few more questions while they were fresh in his mind. Like who Professor Miller was. When he would meet the other pilots. When he would be ready to go on missions as well. And a few hundred more he would probably think of as soon as he got started.

At least he was sure by now that he didn't need to be shy with his questions around Claudia.


	11. VFI Site 4.LHT.346, Charlie

The impact site looked like any other Charlie had salvaged in the four years that he had been a pilot. A deep crater with something that he could not quite identify rammed into the ground at its centre and debris of various sizes strewn around it like an angry child had thrown a temper tantrum and scattered his toys.

Charlie was scouting ahead of the other three mechas, the usual job he had always been assigned by the Conclave as well. Being able to get a view from above was a great advantage.

Only this was the first time he was doing it on his own. 

So far he had always had Harry with him, not in body but in attention. Back at the Hangar, Harry would watch all the sensor data like a hawk and give him additional intel, provide tactical back up and point out things he had missed or scientific shit he didn't understand. Harry surely would have been able to tell him a lot more about what kind of flotsam he was looking at.

Actually, his fellow Gaian pilots had looked at him quite strangely when he asked them whether they had anyone running operator for them. Raphael had explained that they didn't have long range communication. They used landlines between Gaian settlements, but once the mechas were far out in the field they had no way of checking back with the base. It was one technical advancement they hoped to learn from Harry.

But there was no place for Harry to act as operator yet at the Den. And Harry probably was still too hung over. And it wasn't like this was the first time he had ever piloted Archangel on his own. There had been plenty of training hours when Harry had been busy with something else.

So he could do this.

He did a last fly over of the impact site, scanning for anything unusual. Archangel displayed various bits of information about the flotsam which mostly was unintelligible technobabble to Charlie. He did understand that he was looking at metal alloys of some sort.

Those and meteorites were the most common vortex flotsam impacts. The vortex sucked in all sorts of stuff. Most of it just passed through, but some of it hit earth and crash landed, being the major source of rare materials for all three factions to advance their various goals. Hauling the huge chunks and bits back to base would have been possible for land vehicles of course. But doing so while fighting over them with the other factions was what had led to the creation of the mechas. 

That and the interfacing tech discovered in what had to be the remains of an alien spacecraft that had been unlucky enough to be sucked into the vortex. Charlie's bets were on the Conclave, but no one remembered for sure which faction had first discovered it; all three claimed it was their brilliance that had made it possible. 

He pulled Archangel up a little higher to get a wider area scan. He had fully expected to find Legion mechas already at the site. After all they were practically in the Legion's backyard. But there was nothing on his scanners, only Brute, Hound and Bageera steadily drawing nearer from the south.

"Charlie, what do you see?" Raphael's voice came to him over radio.

That was another thing he would have to get used to. Conclave mechas acted largely independent of each other with the scientist giving the orders to their individual pilots. It had quickly become obvious when they headed out that with the Gaians Raphael was in command of the team. Which of course made perfect sense since he was the most senior pilot and a Sky. And with no operators back at the base to discuss and decide on strategy, someone in the field had to assume command. 

It still felt weird to Charlie and he knew that in a combat situation, he would have a hard time adjusting. It would have preferred to get some training with his new team mates, but he'd just have to cope.

"Site is clear." He reported. "No Legion, no Conclave, no weird stuff."

Sometimes there were living things emerging from whatever had crashed into earth. Sometimes those things crawled away and made a new home on the planet stuck in the vortex. Sometimes they were very hostile.

"Any idea what we have?" Raphael asked.

Again Charlie studied his read outs. "Metal. That much I'm sure of." He answered.

"Good enough, eta in about two minutes. Keep your eyes open." Raphael sounded relaxed and Charlie found himself breathing more easily as well. He didn't have Harry to watch over him, but maybe he could rely on Raphael to take up a bit of that slag. 

A minute later the other three mechas showed up on his optical scanners as well. All three of them were moving quite quickly, running on four limbs. 

That they were able to travel far so quickly and were agile in combat were the main advantages of the Gaian mechas. Legion mechas were slow and lumbering but their armour was so thick it was incredibly hard to take one down. They also fought as a unit with frightening precision. Conclave mechas were each special in its own ways and the most technically advanced.

Charlie didn't worry about facing the Legion, but the thought that Conclave mechas might show up worried him. He didn't want to fight people he still considered his friends.

"Do you want me to stay in the air or should I help with pick up?" he asked.

"Stay up, please." Raphael answered. While Brute and Bageera descended into the crater, Hound took up a patrol route along the edge of it. "I have no idea why the Legion isn't here yet. Who knows what kind of nasty surprise they have in store for us. Ideally I want to be out of here again before they show up."

Charlie couldn't have agreed more. 

He watched from above as Brute and Bageera started sorting through the debris, lifting out the largest chunks and putting them on a stack so they could pack them up once they had decided what they were going to take. Once more he missed Harry's voice in his ear, telling him what was valuable and what he should leave behind. He was pretty sure that it was as much guesswork for Raphael and Mouse as it would have been for him. Once they got back home he really needed to talk to Commander Sky about getting Harry set up.

Then his ranged sensors warned him about three objects rapidly drawing closer from the north. The Conclave was making an appearance after all.

"Raphael, we have incoming." He informed his new chief. "Prometheus, Black Reaper and Arson. Eta about six minutes."

"Hell yeah, I was starting to get bored." Lena growled happily and let Hound aggressively claw the ground.

"Shit." Raphael muttered, obviously much less thrilled at the prospect of a fight.

Charlie watched his former team mates draw closer. He knew how dangerous each of them was. He had sparred against them often enough. "Let me try to talk to them." He said spontaneously. "Maybe we can work something out. There is too much for us to carry home anyway."

It was a far fetched idea. The three factions never negotiated.

"Are you sure they won't just shred you?" Raphael asked.

Brute and Bageera had stopped their work and climbed back to the edge of the crater as well. They stood in their usual formation with Hound in the middle and the two heavier mechas flanking her.

The Conclave mechas were in their travelling formation with Arson taking point, Black Reaper right behind him and Prometheus a bit further back. Normally Archangel would be above and ahead of them, scouting.

Now he faced them, setting down between the two teams of mechas.

They slowed down, clearly having detected him, and Arson moved off to the sidelines. Charlie kept a nervous eye on the gargantuan turtle. He knew full well that Arson was the most dangerous mecha on the field. His armour was virtually impenetrable, his fire breath was an area attack and if he managed to ram another mecha it was game over. And that didn't even take into account what other horribly brilliant surprises Professor Miller may have hidden in that shell which he hadn't shown to or even told about anybody. 

It was Prometheus who moved to the front slowly, his hands lowered and powered down. Charlie breathed a soundless sigh of relief. Dale he could talk to. He quickly switched to the frequency used by the Conclave and hoped that they hadn't changed it yet. It would be awkward to shout at each other via loud speakers.

"Dale?" he asked tentatively.

The reply was immediate. "Charlie! Are you okay? Are they treating you and Harry all right?"

Charlie couldn't help but smile despite the tight situation. That Dale would still worry about him shouldn't surprise him, but it warmed his heart.

"Yes, we were quite welcome." He answered.

His sensors picked up the three mechas behind him shifting nervously, Hound again clawing the ground. No time for idle small talk.

"I was hoping… maybe we can settle this without a fight…?" he asked.

He heard a sharp hiss over the radio, from Jess, he guessed. He carefully kept his sensors trained on both Black Reaper.

"I would prefer, if we could." Dale said. "What did you have in mind…?"

Charlie was about to answer when Black Reaper moved. She stepped forward as gracefully as a dancer, her scythe rising for the attack. She was just slow enough that Charlie was able to twist Archangel out of the way and bring up his sword to parry. The huge, shining black blade impacted on the laser blade and angry energy crackle between them.

"Jess! NO!" he heard Dale over the radio.

Prometheus stepped forward as well and Charlie was pretty sure he was planning to separate them, but he didn't get a chance, as he was rammed by Hound who had launched herself at him, trying to tackle him to the ground. Being much heavier, Prometheus remained on his feet, but now the fight was joined. 

He didn't have attention to spare to see what the others were doing as he ducked under Black Reapers next attack and swiped his sword at her legs. She fluidly evaded his attack. They danced back and forth, each trying to land a blow. 

Both Bageera and Brute were moving towards Arson cautiously.

The moment of inattention cost him dearly. As suddenly Black Reaper was inside his defence and she toppled him with a classic wrestling manoeuvre. The impact rattled him, but he still tried to immediately roll away. He was too slow. Black Reaper was standing over him with her scythe raised. He starred up at her wondering what it would feel like when he and Archangel died, whether it would actually hurt.

But she didn't move.

Coming back to his senses, he rolled away moments before the scythe came crashing down to were he had been. He used his momentum to get back to his feet right behind Black Reaper. Even though she had attacked first he didn't want to hurt Jess. He also knew that he didn't have a choice. He brought the sword down on her left arm.

Metal screeched as it was rend apart. At least he couldn't hear Jess scream.

Black Reaper stumbled backwards, leaning on the scythe with one arm. She couldn't effectively wield the huge weapon with just one intact arm, Charlie knew. 

He didn't follow up. Instead he quickly scanned the battle. Prometheus was punctured by several of Hound's barbs, but Hound looked much worse, scorched all over by his plasma fists. Bageera and Brute were circling Arson, sometimes landing hits but generally uselessly pounding on Arson's shell. The turtle was ignoring them, moving at a frightening speed to interpose himself between Black Reaper and Archangel.

Charlie knew he had nothing he could harm Arson with. He was fully prepared to launch himself into the air and find another angle of attack when Professor Miller's voice boomed from Arson's loud speakers. "Retreat! Now!"

For a moment Charlie wasn't sure whether he meant the Gaian mechas or his own team. But the turtle moved backwards, away from Archangel, still shielding Black Reaper. Prometheus immediately stopped his attacks on Hound, who was crouched low to the ground in a hopeless defensive position. Brute moved to shield Hound, much like Arson was protecting Reaper.

The three Conclave mechas moved backwards until they were well out of melee range. Only then did they fully turn and leave, Prometheus supporting Black Reaper as they went.

"Yeah, take that, bitches!" Hound howled after them.

Brute kicked her none to gently. "Shut up, Lena. Prometheus could have killed you." Raphael said over the radio.

Charlie watched his former friends go. He hurt from the crashing impact to the ground, but his heart hurt much more.

"Come on, let's pack up and go before the Legion shows up." Mouse said and gently shoved Archangel back towards the crater.

It wasn't really possible for a mecha to show affection, but Charlie was grateful that Bageera was trying.


	12. The Hangar

Alexander had been wandering through the Hangar, thoughtfully chewing on the nutrition bar Claudia had forced on him when the Conclave mechas returned from their mission

After their dinner, Claudia had given him a quick tour of the most important facilities beneath the Hangar. Namely the mess hall, the fitness and the games rooms. It had turned out that what he had thought was a rather luxurious holding cell were the standard accommodations everyone had. Claudia's room was right across from his own.

She had given him a few extra nutrition bars and extracted the promise that he would eat them before he went to sleep so he would 'regain his strength' and then dashed off to work on her thesis, which she had neglected all day since she had spent it with him.

Being left to his own devices in the Hangar without being locked in hadn't been at all what he expected his first evening here to be like. He was tired after everything that had happened, but his mind was still too awake processing all the new things he had been exposed to today for him to go to sleep. And the thought of being back in that tiny cell felt somewhat claustrophobic as well. Better to explore and wait until he was so tired he could be sure he would fall asleep straight away.

He had fully expected the elevator up to the Hangar to be blocked for his use somehow, but it had taken him up without a blip of complaint. It made him wonder what actually kept him from just walking out and away. Probably the chip in his head was set to a certain distance he could go from the Hangar before it crippled him. Maybe Claudia didn't have the sense to think of preventing his escape, but he was very sure Professor Scorten wouldn't let his great accomplishment get away.

But the Hangar itself obviously wasn't restricted to him in any way so he used the chance to familiarize himself with it until the huge gates opened and the mechas marched back in. Alexander had no way of telling how successful they had been. They did look a little battered to his uninitiated eyes. 

He was closest to Black Reaper's spot so he curiously ventured closer. The mecha's left arm seemed severely damaged, hanging limply, revealing hydraulics under a deep rent in the shiny black metal. Doctor Foster was standing next to its foot, glaring up at the huge machine with a murderous rage. 

Alexander watched from behind some crates as Black Reaper's pilot climbed down the scaffolding. He somehow had expected some warrior as impressive as the mecha. What he saw instead was one of the prettiest girls he had seen in a very long time. She looked to be in her early twenties, with luscious, long, black locks, pleasantly tanned skin and just the right amount of curves visible even through her coveralls. It made him uncomfortably aware of how long it had been since he had fucked anything but his own fist.

When she jumped to the ground, Doctor Foster immediately rounded on her. "You god damned stupid cunt!" she yelled, obviously not caring who heard. "Do you honestly believe you can fool me?! I know you stalled! I know you let that fucking bastard get away!"

Foster was almost a head shorter than the other woman, but that didn't seem to deter her at all. Alexander watched with interest as Black Reaper's pilot clenched her fist and remained silent. Whatever had happened on the mission, neither of them seemed happy about it.

"Answer me, bitch!" Doctor Foster shouted, but before the other woman could do so, she already continued raging. "No, just shut the fuck up, you little shit. I swear I've had it with you stupid grunt! You think you can pull stunts like that? Well, you can't! One more step out of line and I will have you fitted with a control ship, do you understand?!"

The pilot drew breath, visibly fighting to keep her cool. She nodded.

"I said: Do you understand me, bitch!" Doctor Foster repeated in an angry hiss, poking her index finger into the other woman's chest with each word.

"Yes, I understand, Doctor Foster." The young woman answered in a flat voice. It was obvious to Alexander that she was hanging on by a thread.

Foster glared at her a moment longer, threateningly waving her finger a little more. Than she turned on her heels and stalked away. The woman kicked hard at the unmoving leg of her mecha, needing some avenue to vent her rage.

The whole exchange made Alexander realize how very lucky he had been that Claudia was in charge of Snare instead of some Conclave Doctor or Professor who would treat him like the lab animal he had been to Professor Scorten. 

He was about to turn away and sneak off again to give the pilot the privacy to deal with her boiling emotions when Dale emerged from between the stacks opposite him.

"Jess! What the fuck was that?!" He growled at the woman. "Why did you attack Charlie?! We could have worked something out…"

She rounded on Dale with the fluid grace of a predator ready to strike. Alexander moved without conscious thought and interposed himself between the two of them, facing Dale.

"Leave it be, Dale." He said, trying to project as much calm as possible and using his height and broad build to block the slighter scientist.

Dale was surprised enough by his sudden appearance to somewhat snap out of his own anger. "What… I…" he stumbled over his own words.

Whatever had happened on the mission, it certainly hadn't gone down to anyone's satisfaction, Alexander noted.

"Not now, Dale." Alexander took a step forward, forcing Dale back. "Come back when you have calmed down."

It truly was to the young scientist's credit how quickly he regained control of himself. Dale took a look at Jess past Alexander and he could see how the female pilot's current mood registered. "I… okay…" Dale raised his hands in a placating gesture, took two more steps backwards and then turned to leave.

Alexander didn't pay him any more attention as he was roughly grabbed from behind and spun around. Jess was about a head shorter than him, but she was strong and her stance clearly showed that she was combat trained. Legion women were soft and sweet, but Alexander was quickly learning that this didn't apply to Conclave women at all. 

"Listen, sucker, I don't know who you think you are, but I don't need a protector!" Jess snarled at him.

Alexander put on his most disarming smile. "I know." He said. "But I really like Dale and I would have hated to see him hurt."

That obviously was the right thing to say as she deflated visibly. "I… uhr… all right…" she growled. She tossed her mass of black curls over her shoulder in a gesture that was feral and disturbingly sexy at the same time.

He had never been drawn to dangerous women before and suddenly Alexander wondered whether that was the reason why his interest in women had never passed a few casual dates and fucks before he grew bored of them. Then again it was probably more the lack of any sex at all that made him react to this very female creature in such a way. Luckily she did not notice or Alexander was pretty sure it would have earned him a knee to the balls.

He still tried to stand up a little straighter when she gave him a once over. "Who are you anyway?" she asked, much calmer now.

"I'm Snare's new pilot." He introduced himself. "Alexander."

Her reaction wasn't at all what he had expected. Her face turned from cautiously hostile to open and sympathetic in a heartbeat. "You're Professor Scorten's experiment?" Not exactly what he wanted to be called, but her next words appeased him immediately. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what that bastard must have put you through." 

Alexander shrugged, trying to look the stoic warrior, but some of his real trauma must have been visible. Her warm hand on his arm was as comforting as it was welcome.

"Is the Professor back in the mecha program, then?" she asked, trepidation in her voice.

"No, Claudia is handling Snare." Alexander answered. "And me, I suppose."

That brought a grin to her face. "Oh, you lucky bastard!" she exclaimed, playfully punching his shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie he hadn't even realized he had missed dearly. "She is quite a sweety."

"Yeah, she is." Alexander agreed. He really was lucky to have her. The thought of Professor Scorten being his operator made him shudder. He could well imagine what it had to be like for Jess to have Doctor Foster in her ear.

Jess sighed deeply and rolled her shoulders. "I really need a drink now." She muttered. "Care to join me?"

"You have alcohol?" The words were out of Alexander's mouth faster than his brain could follow. He had asked Claudia earlier if maybe he could have a beer with his dinner and she had lectured him at length on how alcohol interfered with the interfacing and was strictly forbidden for pilots.

Jess gave him a toothy grin. "Some. Are you going to tell on me?"

"If you have a glass to spare I promise I will lay down my life in protecting your secret." Alexander answered without hesitation. Something to numb the sharp spikes of his life sounded like heaven.

"Well, in that case…" Jess hooked her arm through his and pulled him away from the mecha and into the clutter of the Hangar. "I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."


	13. Hall of Heroes

After spending three days in bed feeling miserable, Tiberius was surprised when he woke up without the crushing headache which had been his constant companion. After the heavy duty sedation from his operation wore off, the fact that someone had poked around in his brain had manifested and the amount of painkillers the nurse was willing to give him hadn't helped as much as she was convinced they did.

So the nurse and Commander Darius had agreed that he needed to rest and Tiberius hadn't been in the mood to argue. He had talked to his mother on the phone twice and both Cassius and Janus had made individual appearances to check on his well being and once more assure him that they would acquire anything he needed for a swift recovery. But apart from that he had been happy to be left alone.

Not quite trusting his body's sudden change of heart, he remained in bed for the better part of the morning. But when he still didn't feel any discomfort but the fact that he really needed a shower, he decided that it was time to get up and rejoin the living.

He really tried to be careful under the shower, but the spray bandages behind his ears were coming off anyway. Standing in front of the huge, floor to ceiling bathroom mirror he cautiously inspected the shining chrome sockets. The skin around them was still tender and he quickly discovered that pressing against them wasn't a smart idea. But apart from that he seemed to be healing nicely.

With nothing better to do, he made himself comfortable on the hulking couch and started thumbing through the information material Commander Darius had left him. It held various data on the mechas and on what his training schedule would look like, once he worked that out with Darius. It also included a long warning from Cassius and Janus on how they were the ones handling publicity and that he wasn't allowed to just give interviews to whoever he pleased. Stuff that was quite obvious to Tiberius after having grown up in the household of a senator.

A rather handy map of the layout of the Hall of Heroes was part of the package as well. It was the item that ended up getting most of his attention. He was surprised to find that only he and Lucius seemed to have spacious apartments while the other pilots were housed in cells underground. Then again, he probably shouldn't have been surprised after what he had heard on how those other pilots were treated.

It made him wonder how his fellow new recruit was faring. He had gone through the same surgery Tiberius had, but somehow he doubted that he had received as much of a caring treatment afterwards. Probably not the best way to turn a captured savage into a loyal pilot. The thought made him restless. He clearly remembered waking up next to the other young man and hoping that he might find a way to befriend him. Now was as good an opportunity as any other. He probably wasn't supposed to just go and explore the Hall of Heroes on his own, but on the other hand he doubted that he would hear any serious complaints about it.

After all everybody seemed to be very keen on making him feel welcome.

Navigating the Hall of Heroes with the map in hand was very easy. The huge structure looked impressive, but it was as simple in it's layout as most official Legion buildings. From the ground floor it was just a matter of following signs conveniently painted on the walls. 

The less fortunate pilots were housed on the second underground level. There were two security check points in between, but each obediently beeped open when Tiberius pressed his security card against the scanners and the attending legionnaires were exceptionally polite. He found it a little worrying how easily he got through.

The corridor where the pilots supposedly had their cells looked empty to Tiberius when he rounded the corner, but his attention was immediately drawn by sounds of struggle and then the amused voice of Janus.

"Just keep struggling, little savage. I like the feisty ones."

That certainly didn't sound like the kind of situation one wanted to barge into, but Tiberius sped up his steps. The cell he was looking for was easy enough to find. It was the one with the open door. One look was enough for Tiberius to know that what was happening was exactly what it had sounded like.

Janus was gripping the red-haired savage by the neck with one hand, pressing him face first onto the bed. The pilot's hands were bound on his back with simple magnetic cuffs, severely hampering his ability to fight back, but he was still weakly kicking and struggling, trying to dislodge Janus, who was busy tearing at his victim's pants.

The smart thing to do would of course have been to turn around and quietly leave the way he had come. Instead Tiberius barged into the room with an outraged: "What the fuck are you doing?!"

The shock Janus jerked back with would have been comical if Tiberius hadn't been so utterly appalled by the man's behaviour.

The red-head immediately used the opportunity to try and struggle free again. The fight was short-lived as Janus quickly grabbed a small remote control he must have earlier deposited at the head of the bed. With the press of a button the captive screamed out in pain, shaking his head. Only now did Tiberius notice the heavy metal collar around his neck. Standard issue for controlling difficult slaves, it delivered shocks ranging from painful to crippling.

"Janus, stop it!" Tiberius ordered in that voice of absolute command he had learned from his father.

The intelligence officer dropped the remote like it had burned him and stared at Tiberius with a mix of confusion and the guilt of a boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Tiberius thoughts were racing. Just ordering the man would get him nothing as soon as the confusion wore off. He needed an excellent reason why Janus wasn't allowed to rape the other pilot when clearly he thought he had every right to.

"But I was just teaching him who his betters are…" Janus complained almost petulantly, making Tiberius point for him.

Tiberius said the first thing that came into his head. "He is mine! And you bloody won't use him without my express permission!" Maybe not a very sustainable excuse, but convincing enough for the moment.

"What?" Janus asked, finally releasing the red-head from his grip and moving a few steps back from the bed. "Uh… I… didn't know…?" he then added, both apology and looking for some sort of legitimisation of Tiberius' claim.

"I talked about it with Commander Darius." Tiberius lied smoothly. He also sent a silent prayer to the god of lies that the Commander would back him up on this, once he got a chance to explain. "He thought that the savage would make a nice treat for me. I'm sure you agree that I deserve a little something to keep me amused, don't you?" After all Janus had been after him relentlessly, trying to figure out something he could please him with.

Apparently Tiberius hit the right nerve. "But of course!" Janus cooed, suddenly changing his tone to subservient enthusiasm. His smile was suddenly full of understanding. "He's a wild thing, but I'm sure a fine young warrior like you will break him in easily."

Fine young warrior, my ass, Tiberius thought with deep disdain. He was a school boy who had suddenly been yanked from his life to become a pilot. If there was a fine young warrior in the room it was the red-head who had by now recovered from the shock and was struggling to regain his feet.

Tiberius smiled back at Janus with all the confidence he could possibly project. "Indeed. Actually I was just coming to pick him up." If he moved the other pilot to his own spacious quarters he could make sure that no one was abusing him much easier. Maybe then they wouldn't feel so ridiculously huge and empty anymore.

"Excellent idea." Janus agreed eagerly. "I could help…"

"I'm sure that won't be necessary." Tiberius cut him short. "If you will just leave that remote with me, I can handle him." He held out his hand expectantly.

There was a tiny moment of hesitation, but then Janus retrieved the remote and dropped it in his outstretched palm. "I will check on you later then. To make sure he isn't giving you too much trouble." Janus offered with a leer so obvious it made Tiberius' teeth ache to keep on smiling.

"Thank you so much." He answered and stepped aside to let Janus leave. He waited until he heard his footsteps disappear down the corridor, before he turned to the savage.

After his words to Janus he didn't expect a friendly reception, but the murderous rage in the startlingly green eyes of the other man made him take a step backwards. He was pretty sure that if the red-head hadn't still been bound he would be getting strangled right about now. The rough leather clothes he had first seen the savage in were gone and replaced with simple slave pants and a matching tunic.

"Uh, hi…" he said somewhat sheepishly. "I… I just said that to him to get rid of him. I don't plan to do anything to you, okay?"

The green eyes narrowed under the mop of red locks and he was studied more closely. "Get these fucking cuffs off me if you want me to believe that." The young man snarled. 

His accent was heavy and unknown to Tiberius. He couldn't even be sure his savage tribe spoke the same language as the three major factions.

Tiberius almost moved forward to do what the other asked, but then he checked himself. His earlier thoughts were quite accurate. This man probably was a trained fighter and Tiberius had no way of winning a fight against him. He might very well get strangled for his efforts after all.

"Do you promise not to attack me?" he asked.

For the venomous stare that question earned him it was clear that had been the intention. Understandable but not very helpful to their current situation.

"Look, let's get to my quarters upstairs and we can talk there." Tiberius tried to reason. "I mean, what have you got to lose? If you stay here, Janus will come back and continue with what he started."

That made the red-head shudder. Whether with fear, disgust or rage Tiberius couldn't tell. At first it looked like he wasn't getting through, but then the other man relaxed minutely.

"Why would you help me?" he asked, still suspicious.

Tiberius shrugged. "Because I think it's wrong how they treat you. If they expect you to fight for them as a pilot they should give you a better reason than fear." He tried a tentative smile. "I'm Tiberius. I'm a new pilot here as well. Legion bred, though, so they treat me like some sort of royalty." He gestured towards the door. "Please?" he added politely.

He probably didn't convince the other, but at least he left the tiny cell and followed Tiberius.

"What is your name?" he asked, trying to keep something like a conversation going.

"Merou." The red-head answered in a defensive tone of voice.

It fit him, Tiberius thought, but didn't comment on it at all. "Have they explained at all what they expect of you?" he asked instead.

"I'm supposed to steer one of the huge metal beasts." Merou said, sounding less than thrilled at the prospect.

Tiberius had no idea how technically advanced the tribe was that he had been taken from. Many of the savage tribes didn't even use basic mechanics, much less any high tech. The mechas had to seem like some sort of magic to them, he thought.

"It is a special talent only very few people have." He tried to explain at least a little. "That is why they picked you out. That's also why they won't really give us a choice in the matter. If we refuse they will force us." He carefully picked the 'us', trying to foster some sort of unity.

Merou remained broodingly silent until they emerged to the ground level where they had a view of the mechas. There he stopped to slowly let his gaze sweep over them. It was probably the first time he wasn't dragged off somewhere and could properly look at them. Tiberius didn't rush him.

"If they let me steer one of them, I will use it to crush them." He announced calmly.

Tiberius had expected as much. "They will use that collar around your neck to shock you unconscious." He said. "And if you truly misbehave they will use it to blow your head off." 

He quietly wondered how many pilots the Legion had lost already to the fact that they seemed to regularly mistreat their pilots. Maybe the Legion could have won the damned war ages ago, if they actually tried to woe all their pilots as much as they did with him. Ridiculous superiority complex, that was what his mother had always called it. Tiberius agreed. But the general public bought into all the propaganda happily enough.

He wasn't quite sure what kind of reaction he had expected to his words, but he wasn't overly surprised when Merou squared his shoulders and raised his head higher in a gesture of arrogant defiance. Fine young warrior, indeed.

They made their way up to the highest tier where Tiberius apartment was located. As before, any legionnaires they met nodded politely to Tiberius, while they ignored Merou. When they reached the apartment, Tiberius quickly closed the door behind them and breathed deeply. So far, so good.

Merou looked around the spacious living room with an expression that could have been awe or disgust. He quickly turned to Tiberius again. "So are you going to take the cuffs off or not?" he asked impatiently.

It probably was a really stupid idea, but trust had to start somewhere, Tiberius told himself. So he moved behind Merou and deactivated the magnetic mechanism with his security card. The click of the cuffs opening immediately set Merou in motion and before Tiberius could do so much as open his mouth, he was already spun around and slammed into the wall face first, with his right arm painfully twisted in his back and firmly in Merou's grip. 

His instincts screamed for him to struggle, but his common sense told him that would have been pointless, so he didn't resist. That apparently wasn't the reaction Merou had anticipated. "You'll help me get out of here!" he snarled into Tiberius ear. 

"I can't." Tiberius answered calmly. "I'm as much stuck here as you are." Then he grunted in pain as Merou yanked his arm a little higher. "Please, I really can't. The best I can offer is to keep those bastards from abusing you." He pleaded.

A wordless growl of pure rage came from Merou and for a moment Tiberius wondered if he had severely miscalculated. But then the other man suddenly let go and stepped back from him. Tiberius turned around slowly, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. Probably not a hard thing to do since he had no chance in a fight, as he had just proved.

"I could have killed you." Merou hissed angrily.

Tiberius nodded. "Yeah. I know."

That seemed to calm Merou down a little and he cocked his head, now more puzzled than angry. "Then why did you take the cuffs off?"

Tiberius shrugged. "Because I really want to be friends." He admitted, feeling a bit stupid, but forging ahead anyway. "We are both new here. I'm sure we'll have a better chance together, rather than each on our own."

Merou's brow furrowed at that idea. "You're weird, Legion boy." He finally said. Tiberius noticed that his hands were shaking slightly as he ran them through his red mane. Slowly coming down from his adrenaline high, Tiberius deduced.

He deliberately walked past Merou, making himself vulnerable with turning his back. "How about I get us some food and we sit down to talk about how we will fool Janus into leaving us alone." He suggested and then added: "Yes, I am aware you will kill me if I try to touch you." Before Merou could utter the threat.

That finally earned a grim chuckle from his new room mate.


	14. Chapter 14

"If there is anything else at all you will need, Doctor Jackson, please don't hesitate to ask." Aidan Snowdrop, the bio-tech liaison who had been assigned to them, smiled at Harry winningly.

Harry smiled back just as winningly. "You have done such a great job already, Aidan, I'm sure we will work together very well. And please call me Harry."

Charlie watched them exchange pleasantries with a smirk of his own. It was quite obvious to him that Harry was flirting shamelessly while Aidan was trying very hard to please what he considered an awe inspiring celebrity and at the same time was completely missing the flirting part. 

The workshop and housing for Archangel had been erected in record time and was equipped with every scrap of tech the Gaian Collective could possibly scrounge up. It was a bare minimum from Harry's point of view, of course. Even Charlie could spot several items missing which would have been a must-have at the Conclave. But Harry would make do. That was one of his amazing talents: building the most amazing devices from a nail, a bit of string and a wet sandwich.

"I'm so much looking forward to exchanging knowhow with you." Harry added and encouragingly patted Aidan's shoulder.

Using the opportunity to cop a feel, Charlie thought, deeply amused. Poor Aidan had no idea what he was getting into. After the dry, boring colleagues at the Conclave the mecha compound of the Gaians had to be heavenly rich hunting grounds to Harry. Charlie didn't begrudge his friend the opportunity. 

Of course the Collective was extremely keen to learn as much as possible from Harry so Aidan was probably under orders to be as nice and welcoming as possible. Their mechas were fast and versatile but overall they were the weakest, compared to the Conclave and the Legion. The technical insights Harry could provide were invaluable. Charlie made another mental note to remind Harry that he shouldn't take Aidan for granted and that the kid might be receptive to his overtures only because he had been ordered to.

"Would you like to take a look at the other mechas, maybe?" Aidan offered. His puppy eyed admiration definitely wasn't faked.

"Very much." Harry immediately agreed.

It had taken several days to get Harry mostly sober. The easily available alcohol and drugs had proven too much of a temptation to resist. It had taken a rather stern talking to by Charlie first to the service people at the Den and to Harry himself to get him back on track. Mostly back on track anyway. Charlie was very aware that he would have to keep watching his friend. But that really was a small price to pay for being home.

"Are you coming, too?" Harry asked him, but Charlie shook his head.

"I want to run a few tests on Archangel." He answered. "And no, I can do it on my own. And yes, I will of course leave you the results to check on." He added when Harry opened his mouth to ask whether he should stay and help. "Run along and gawk at the marvellous bio-mechs."

Harry grinned. "You know how to make a man happy." He said. "I'll see you later." Then he turned his full charm back on Aidan, pushing him out of the door with an arm inconspicuously draped around his shoulders.

Charlie turned back to Archangel and ran his hand over the scarred metal of the hulking monster's foot. He knew that without him, Archangel was just an inanimate piece of gear, but still the giant robot was a creature with a personality of its own to Charlie. The countless hours he had spent jacked into the mecha had made it a part of himself, a part that he couldn't imagine living without anymore. All the little quirks and details were as familiar as his own body.

"How do you like your new home?" Charlie asked softly, walking around the mecha to climb the scaffolding that would allow him to reach the access hatch to the cockpit.

In his mind he heard the deep, rumbling voice he imagined Archangel to have answer him. 'Not too bad. A little weird with the strange bio-mechs.'

"We'll get used to them." Charlie promised his friend. "Give it a little time."

He settled into the pilot seat, relaxed back and then engaged the interface, like always enjoying that moment when his senses suddenly expanded. He took his time, running through various scan and maintenance routines.

Earlier he had talked to Raphael about some joined training with the other Gaian mechas, to hopefully get more accustomed to fighting together with them. He had been surprised to hear that they rarely trained together or even at all. Raphael had been quite receptive to the idea, though. He had promised to talk the other pilots to find out who might be interested in joining some team training. Charlie quietly hoped Lena could be persuaded. She had the inner fire and hunger for combat, but she lacked discipline. 

The thought made Charlie chuckle as he locked back out of Archangel. That he would ever consider the Conclave pilots as disciplined wouldn't have crossed his mind before he came here. But compared to the laid back attitude of the Gaians, they were.

He couldn't help but wonder how they were doing now. Whether Dale had received any flack for trying to talk to him, whether Jess was all right. How they were coping with only having three active mechas. He found himself wishing he had a way to get a message to them. Dale had seemed to care whether he was doing okay. And Jess had probably acted on Doctor Foster's orders when she attacked him. She had known perfectly well that he would take a good chance to escape so he couldn't imagine her being angry at him. Maybe because he hadn't found a way to take her along.

Stupid war that forced them to face each other on a battle field at all. But there was no way that Conclave, Legion and Gaians would ever overcome the fundamental differences in how they thought earth should be ruled.

After doing one last check on the repairs in Archangel's flank were Black Reaper had badly scraped the armour, Charlie left his mecha to find some food and hopefully some fellow pilots to hang out with. He was walking along the tree shaded path through the inner garden when he heard Olivia's agitated voice from a secluded pavilion.

"You can't make me give up Mantis!"

The mere thought of someone asking a pilot to give up their mecha made Charlie stop in his tracks. At the Conclave he would have told himself it was none of his business and he couldn't change anything anyway. But this was home.

"Olivia, calm down!" Commander Sky's voice was firm but compassionate. "No one is asking you to give up Mantis. Just to take a temporary break from active duty."

Charlie knew he probably shouldn't be eavesdropping, but he quietly ventured closer to the pavilion to listen in anyway.

"But…" Olivia started to object, but was cut off by Sky immediately.

"I really didn't expect you to make such a fuss about it. We were sure you would feel honoured that we have chosen you for this project." Natalie sounded disappointed. 

Or at least she was trying to sound disappointed. There was a manipulative, fake quality to her voice that Charlie silently hoped he was just imagining.

"Honoured?!" Olivia on the other hand was very honestly outraged. "You expect me to feel honoured at being your breeding cow?!"

Now Natalie was starting to sound seriously annoyed. "You will be the mother of a new generation of pilots that will guarantee us the edge over our enemies we have been looking for so long. Your special talents make you the prefect genetic blueprint. Combined with the DNA of our male pilots we will have a great range of different temperaments and abilities at our disposal."

Charlie was hardly able to believe what his ears were telling him. They were planning to breed pilots? With Olivia as the mother and the male pilots as their fathers? That sounded like an insane Conclave Professor's pet project, not like something the Gaians would do. It was wrong on so many levels he didn't even know what to be most angry about.

"You expect me to fuck them!" Olivia summed up Charlie's most immediate point.

"Natural conception is always preferable to artificial one." Natalie explained patronisingly. "Obviously you and your partner will be carefully monitored and given fertility enhancing medication which ensures that there will be fast results."

Her matter-of-fact words silenced Olivia and Charlie could well imagine how she was trembling with wordless rage.

"Olivia, this is not open for negotiation." Natalie added with an amount of threat in her voice that made Charlie shudder. She sounded as cold as Doctor Foster who Charlie so far had considered as the most inhuman woman he had ever met. "We would vastly prefer to have both you and Lena in this program, but she can't have children so it will have to be you."

"What if I refuse?" Olivia asked in a small voice.

"Then we will fall back on artificial insemination and you will never see your precious Mantis again." Commander Sky answered immediately. She left the threat hanging in the silence that followed for several minutes, before she spoke again. "I trust we will have your full co-operation?"

Charlie didn't hear an answer, but Olivia must have agreed somehow.

"Good." Natalie said. "I will let you know when we have chosen who will be your first partner. Please refrain from having sex with anyone else in the meantime. We wouldn't want to mess with the planning, would we?"

"No, we can't have that." Olivia answered with scathing sarcasm which probably was wasted on Natalie.

Her next words confirmed that: "You worry about this too much. You will see: you will love being a mother. And you can still pilot Mantis in between pregnancies."

There was no reply from Olivia which didn't surprise Charlie at all. What was one supposed to answer to such cold-hearted efficiency?

Charlie took two steps back between the trees, when he heard Natalie rise and leave. She walked past him without noticing him. For a moment Charlie contemplated what to do now. One of her future breeding partner was probably the last person Olivia wanted to see right now and Charlie had no idea what kind of support he could offer her. Promising that he wouldn't take part in this atrocity seemed the obvious choice, but he also knew that he had no real idea on how to refuse effectively.

The shock that apparently the Gaians, who he had considered his home and above the cruel efficiency of the Conclave, weren't one bit better, numbed him.

But when he heard a quiet sob from the pavilion his feet carried him there without any conscious decision of his own.

He found Olivia on a bench inside the pavilion, with her feet drawn up, her face hidden against her knees. He still wasn't sure whether he would be welcome so he self-consciously cleared his throat, ready to retreat at the slightest sign.

"I… I heard…" he said softly, when she looked up, her face streaked with tears, "if you want me to go… I understand…"

Olivia blinked at him and a strange sensation passed through Charlie, like something had brushed his skin. Then she shook her hand and reached one hand out to him in an obvious plea for comfort. He was next to her in an instant, wrapping his arms around her protectively. She buried her face against his chest and he felt her tremble, but she made no sound, crying silently. It broke his heart and that he had no idea how to help made him furious. 

Not being able to do anything to fight an injustice was what had driven him to the brink of rage many times at the Conclave and was one of the many reasons why he so badly had wanted to leave. That things apparently would be exactly the same here made him want to scream.

"I'm so sorry." He told Olivia gently, when her crying finally abated. "I… I won't take part in this… I promise."

His words were answered with a bitter chuckle. "Charlie, that is real sweet of you, but they won't give you more of a choice than they are giving me."

"But… it's just… wrong." Charlie argued helplessly. "There must be something we can do." 

He searched for ideas. Running away back home had always been the glint of hope to him at the Conclave. That he had been wrong was painful and he didn't know where else to run. Going back to the Conclave wasn't really an option. Neither was the Legion.

"Maybe we can talk to Raphael?" he suggested. "He must be able to change their minds. He's a Sky after all."

Olivia looked up at him with a mix of despair and pity. "There is bad blood between Raphael and his family." She said. "They… I don't know what exactly it is, but if he wasn't a pilot he would have died in a convenient accident a long time ago. Even now Natalie gives him every suicide mission that comes her way."

It felt like the floor was dropping away from Charlie in pieces. How much more of what he had believes true about the Gaian Collective would be revealed as nothing but pretty illusions today, he wondered bitterly. The Sky family was nearly sacred to all Gaians, even infighting was hard to believe, but that they would try to murder one of their own?

"No…" Charlie whispered. "That… is…"

Olivia gently took his hands. "I'm mildly psychic." She explained. "That's why they want me for this. I don't guess that they hate him. I know it." Her smile grew softer and she once more laid her head against his chest, snuggling close to him. "That's how I know you care."

He kept his embrace around her. Maybe he had no idea how to protect her, but he silently vowed that it was just that he had no idea yet. He would not allow this to happen. He'd have to talk to Harry, who was so much smarter than Charlie could ever hope to be. If only he wasn't also such a scatterbrained hedonist. 

"I'll figure something out." He promised Olivia softly. "I don't know how, but we'll figure something out."


	15. The Hangar

Alexander ducked under the punch and easily evaded the follow up kick. The first had been an obvious feint. But Jess had expected the second attack to connect so she swayed out of balance and then hissed furiously as he caught her wrist and used her own momentum to throw her. She landed on her back with a resounding slap that pushed the air out of her lungs.

Fighting against a woman had been an entirely new experience for Alexander. 

That women were soft and weak had been drummed into his head since his earliest childhood. You simply didn't hit a woman.

His first sparring match against Jess had been a lesson in pain and humility with her beating his ass mercilessly. That he was still regaining his strength hadn't helped either. Luckily, he had always been a quick study. Once he realized that Jess would neither break nor cry when he fought back against her like he would have fought another legionnaire, they had been much more evenly matched. He was taller, stronger and better trained, she was quick and agile and entirely without compunction when fighting dirty. The bite marks on his left hand from their last session were still smarting.

The fact that during their training matches she pushed down the top part of her coverall, knotting it in place with the sleeves and revealing that she only wore a tight chemise underneath probably was another reason why he came back for more every day. Her breasts were just as pretty as the rest of her and the chance to stare at them was more than worth a little pain

He had lost his grip on her after the throw and she slipped into a low crouch, baring her teeth in a playful snarl. It made his blood run hot.

Then she lunged at him again. This time he didn't have time to evade and instead caught her. Her weight was enough to throw him down, but he rolled with it, using his superior strength and expertise to wrestle her down and onto her back. She kept trying to get a punch in until he got control of both of her wrists, secure pinning her over her head and keeping her down with his weight.

They were both panting with exertion which of course looked way hotter on her than on him. Her breasts were heaving with each breath she took and the length of her body was hard and soft and very hot against his own. It made him very aware that he should let go of her, but his body had its own idea and it took an amazing amount of self control not to grind against her.

For a moment she kept on struggling, but then her snarl changed to a lazy grin.

Alexander was entirely unprepared when she raised her head and crushed her lips against his in a hungry kiss, forcing his mouth open with her tongue. He had never been kissed like this. Hot and wet and entirely dominating him, sharp teeth tugging on his lips. He fell into her kiss, fighting for dominance and losing since he had no practice on this battlefield.

He groaned helplessly, as she pushed her hips up against him, grinding against him exactly like he had tried not to. He gasped for air and she used the opportunity of his raised head to bite at his jaw.

"Alexander," she growled his name hungrily, making him shudder violently, "I want to fuck."

The plain demand made his head spin. He didn't resist when she pushed against him again, twisting both of them around so she came to straddle him.

She smirked down at him victoriously and raised a questioning eyebrow. "You game?"

The mere fact that she was asking for his consent before she devoured him like a treat was the hottest thing to ever happen to him. He wanted to say a lot of things about how she rocked his world, how she was the most beautiful, incredible woman he had ever met, how he wanted to fuck her so badly it was burning him alive.

All he managed was a groaned: "Gods, yes!"

Then he drowned in her as she swooped down to kiss him again.

He knew two types of women - whores hired by the Legion who provided a business like service not much different from getting a haircut. And proper women looking for a husband, who needed to be wooed and pampered so they deigned to agree to a kiss or a cautious grope.

Jess was a force of nature.

She had pushed down Alexander's coveralls in no time, not bothering to strip him all the way, just freeing his raging hard cock far enough so she could get a firm grip on it. She hummed appreciatively, running her strong fingers around him, measuring him and apparently quite satisfied with what she found.

Alexander lay under her, groaning and helplessly clawing at the floor and at the fabric covering her delicious skin. They were both sweaty from their sparring and it was the most heady perfume he could imagine.

He was more than happy when she disentangled her coverall sleeves and shimmied out of it completely. She was perfect in every way he could imagine, warm rounded flesh with the scars that marked her as a fellow warrior, the mix of woman and comrade everything he could have wished for.

He wouldn't have known what to do next, but luckily his input wasn't required. Jess once more settled herself on top of him. He just had a moment for a startled gasp when she grabbed his cock again and then she was sliding herself onto him.

She was hot and tight and she very much liked to move, riding him with a feral grin. He finally managed to get his hands on her hips, but trying to interfere with her rhythm wasn't welcomed, so he just hung on to her, letting her take whatever she wanted while at the same time praying that he would somehow last long enough to please her.

When she firmly moved one of his hands to where they were joined he blinked at her in a confused, pleasure filled haze. Her eyes sparkled with mirth as she adjusted her grip, moving his thumb to stroke her. The small nub he found right above where he entered her seemed to give her immense pleasure, as her muscles contracted around him, making him see sparks as well.

"Oh yes, right there." She growled happily, rolling her hips.

Some part of him had a moment to wonder why no woman he had slept with had ever bothered to show him this, but then she ground against him hard and any conscious thought he could spare was needed to keep on stroking her, like she wanted.

He groaned and grunted along with her, their bodies moving in unison. He was ready to explode and had no way of letting her know, but clinging to her, fingers digging into her flesh. His shout of pleasure when he came was deafening in his own ears and he bucked up into her desperately.

When his senses returned to something close to normal he found Jess bonelessly slumped on top of him, her warm curves pressed against his skin, her teeth contently nibbling at the base of his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her, pressing her a little closer against him.

"Damn, I so needed that." She whispered, her warm breath tickling his ear most pleasantly, making him shudder with an afterglow of pleasure.

"That was bloody awesome." He answered, sounding as impressed as he was.

She wiggled up a little, pulling herself of his cock and then smirked down at him. "You won't go all mushy-pushy romancy on me now, will you?" she asked with mock warning.

Alexander grinned back at her. Could there be a woman more awesome than one who wanted to fuck, fight and drink?

He swatted her ass playfully and she yelped most satisfactory and then laughed. "Beautiful friendship indeed!"

She climbed off him completely and picked up her discarded coveralls, putting them back on. He greedily enjoyed the view.

"Shower?" she asked, stretching her arms up over her head, looking like a lean predator in all her glory.

"Sounds good to me." With a groan he picked himself off the floor.

He was startled for just a moment when Jess looked up at one of the security cameras and said: "Have fun wanking to that, suckers!" 

He had completely forgotten they were being watched. But then he grinned at the camera as well and flipped it his middle finger.

Together they sauntered off to the showers, feeling very satisfied with their accomplishments.


	16. Hall of Heroes

Food, his mother had repeatedly told him, was the fastest and easiest way to calm down angry people. Tiberius had seen it happen plenty of times when his father entertained guests who were at odds with whatever it was his father wanted of them. As soon as their bellies were full and their minds slightly numbed with good wine, they were much more malleable. 

What held true for Legion senators apparently was also true for savage warriors. 

Tiberius had ordered them a nice, plentiful and varied meal and Merou had fallen on it like a starving wolf. It made Tiberius wonder what they had been feeding him with.

At least it seemed like they had taken good care of his surgery wounds. His bandages were gone as well, even though Tiberius had yet to catch a glimpse of his interfacing sockets under that red mane.

Now they were both camped out on the monstrously large bed, digesting and watching TV. Merou had picked up on how the remote control worked quickly enough and now he was quite fascinated with all the different programs. Maybe he wasn't educated, but he sure seemed smart, Tiberius thought.

And for now he seemed to be willing to trust Tiberius.

They had yet to really talk, but Tiberius was enjoying the quiet company too much to endanger the fragile peace they had going. Eventually they would have to figure out a plan on how to make sure that no one would try to take Merou from Tiberius again. A plan which would likely involve Tiberius somehow convincing Merou to act like a proper Legion slave instead of a proud warrior who could rip off Tiberius' head at the slightest provocation. Which was precisely why Tiberius was postponing that particular discussion to a later date.

He fully expected Janus to show up before then, but he had a contingency plan which simply consisted of asking Merou to stay in the bedroom and out of sight while Tiberius made up some convincing lies. Not a brilliant plan, maybe, but hopefully simple enough not to go too badly wrong.

So Tiberius wasn't overly surprised when their post feeding stupor was interrupted by a loud knock to his apartment door.

"Please just stay in here." He asked Merou pleadingly and quickly got up from the bed. "I'll deal with whatever it is."

For a moment Merou tensed up like he was preparing for a fight again, but then he seemed to change his mind, as he relaxed back against the pillows with a small shrug. "Scream for help if you need me, Legion boy." He said with an almost friendly smirk.

At some point they would also have to talk about the 'Legion boy' name calling, but that could wait even longer, Tiberius decided.

He firmly closed the bedroom door and headed for the apartment entrance. There had been two more knocks by now, each more impatient than the previous one, making Tiberius wonder if maybe it was Commander Darius, demanding to know what the hell Tiberius had been thinking when he claimed that Darius had allowed him to claim Merou as his own.

When he opened the door he instead found that it was neither Darius nor Janus. Instead Lucius Seneca, tall and quite striking, best and most famous pilot of the Legion, stood in the doorframe, an enraged frown marring his handsome features.

He didn't give Tiberius time to comprehend that the confrontation he had been expecting for some time was here. Instead he angrily poked his index finger at Tiberius and drove him back by stepping into him.

"You arrogant little shit! Who the hell do you think you are?!" Lucius snarled, glaring at Tiberius for all he was worth.

Tiberius had no idea what had prompted the sudden appearance of the Legion's star pilot after he had shown no interest in him up to now. But whatever it was, it had certainly ruffled Lucius' feathers. His hissy fit was quite impressive. 

There really were only two possible reactions, cower and grovel or hit back. Even though Tiberius valued peace and quiet he had never reacted well to bullying. If he backed down now, Lucius would take that as an open invitation to stomp on him for the rest of his career as a pilot. Certainly not something Tiberius was looking forward to. So offensive it was.

"What the fuck is your problem?" he snarled at Lucius, stopping his retreat and standing his ground, trying to look at tall and menacing as possible. Maybe he wasn't an athletic hunk like Merou who could dominate people with his sheer physical presence. But he sure was able to make that up with pure arrogance.

Lucius was clearly taken aback by the fact that Tiberius refused to back down. For a moment he sputtered wordlessly, unsure how to deal with this unexpected turn of events. It made Tiberius realize that so far the older pilot had ruled as the supreme primadonna here at the Hall of Heroes.

It was to Lucius credit how quickly he caught himself and resumed his attack. "You think you can waltz in here and do whatever the fuck you please? You are nothing!" he snarled.

His words gave Tiberius an inkling of what Lucius was so pissed off about. He folded his arms in front of his chest and put on a smug smile. "Oh, is this about my new bed warmer?" he sneered. "Let me guess, no one ever thought to offer you such courtesy and now poor little Lucius feels slighted?"

It was quite amazing to watch how Lucius face first went white and then red with rage. "You… you…!" he growled, apparently unable to find words to express his outrage.

"You better get used to it." Tiberius stated with a lot more confidence than he felt. "Let's be frank here: you are getting old, you are getting boring. You don't have the connections I do. It's time for a new shining idol for all the pretty girls to fawn about. And that is going to be me."

He was fully prepared for Lucius to snap and bodily attack him, so he was a little disappointed when the other pilot just balled his hands to white knuckled fists. "I will stomp you into the ground." Lucius hissed. "You're a senator's son? You have connections?" Lucius chuckled darkly and leaned forward until they were almost nose to nose. "Well, that won't mean squat out there on the battlefield. You. Are. Dead."

Then he turned on his heels and strode out of Tiberius apartment without another glance.

Tiberius closed the door behind him and then slumped against it, his heart beating way to fast and his hands shaking. He had been in plenty of intense arguments with his father, but he had never credibly been threatened with death. 

"You sure know how to draw a line." Merou's voice came from the bedroom door. The red-haired savage was leaning in the doorframe with an approving smirk. "Didn't think you had it in you."

Tiberius answered with a shaky laugh. "Neither did I." He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to regain his cool.

"Well, at least now I know why you need someone to have your back." Merou said and returned to the bedroom like nothing particularly exciting had happened. Maybe to him it was just business as usual. Maybe confrontations like that were normal in his tribe. The thought that he would be there to watch Tiberius' back was immensely reassuring, though. 

Tiberius was just about to follow him back into the bedroom, when there was another knock on his door. He opened it, expecting to find a Lucius who would have more threats and maybe have changed his mind about a punch or two, but instead found a brightly smiling Janus. His first reflex was to slam the door closed again, but he caught himself just in time and cemented something onto his face that hopefully looked more like a smile than it felt like.

"Janus." He greeted the intelligence officer. He should probably have said something else, but nothing sprang to his mind.

Luckily the other man didn't seem to notice. In fact he seemed plenty eager to speak himself. "I wish to again apologize for that misunderstanding." He said, shaking his head in over acted self loathing. "I hope you know that I would never intentionally touch anything of yours."

Tiberius sent a silent prayer to whatever god might listen, that Merou would remain in the bedroom, even though he would be quite able to hear what they were saying through the open door. "Of course." He reassured Janus, wondering what would be the quickest way to get rid of him.

"Well, as a token of my sincere regret I have brought you some useful items." Janus continued, holding out a quite beautifully carved wooden box. "Some more restraints, some drugs, a few toys." He smiled conspiratorial. "I'm sure you'll enjoy."

For a moment Tiberius just blinked at the box, then he took it cautiously, realizing what a sheltered life he had led so far. He added to his prayer a few firm words of silent thanks to his mother, who had shielded him from bastards like Janus.

"Thank you." He somehow got out. "That is really… thoughtful of you."

"So how is the little rascal doing?" Janus asked, eagerly scanning the room and then longingly gazing at the bedroom door.

Tiberius swallowed the 'that is none of your fucking business, creep!' and instead said: "Not fit for visitors at the moment, I'm afraid." Since Merou would break every single bone in Janus' body if he entered that bedroom.

"Oh, I can imagine." Janus winked at him. "Well, I'll be on my way then. If there is anything at all you need, never hesitate to call." He repeated his usual mantra.

"You have been most helpful." Tiberius said, grateful that he wouldn't have to bodily remove Janus.

Once more he closed the door behind his uninvited guest and slumped against it.

"I will kill him." Merou calmly stated from the bedroom, without bothering to come out.

"I know." Tiberius muttered, wondering what the usual life expectancy of new pilots was and by how much he would undercut it.


	17. The Den, Dr. Jackson's Workshop

"It's actually a brilliant idea. I wonder why we never thought of that."

Harry's voice was muffled since he was stuck inside Archangel's innards. One of the many maintenance hatches was open and showed a mass of technical stuff Charlie didn't understand. It always amazed him how Harry crawled inside the mecha when it looked like there wasn't enough space to stick an arm in. Then again, Harry had build Archangel so if anyone knew where he could or couldn't go, it was Harry.

Charlie was sitting on the scaffolding several meters above the ground with his legs dangling down. He was used to this weirdly disembodied conversations. They had always talked near Archangel since the mecha was transmitting an interference field that messed up any kind of surveillance. Harry claimed it was due to the energy wings and a glitch he would correct at some point, but Charlie was pretty sure it was intentional and Harry had no intention of ever fixing it. 

He was also used to the fact that Harry might find things utterly fascinating and morally wrong at the same time.

"I mean, Jess and you would have been perfect candidates. She is as fertile as they come, you are a virile hunk, you are both grunts." Harry continued. "I'm sure we would have had a gaggle of cute little pilot babies in no time."

The thought made Charlie shudder for several reasons. He liked Jess, but she definitely was a woman he would not want to be forced to have sex with since he was certain he wouldn't survive the occasion. Actually no one involved in the matter would have great survival chances.

"She would kill anyone who tried such shit." He said aloud.

Harry snorted. "She would try." He corrected. "Trust me on this, if the council decides to breed her, they will."

He was right of course. The Conclave had plenty of ways to control their pilots. Just like the Gaians, apparently. Which brought him right back to his initial question to Harry.

"So what do we do now?" he repeated what he had asked his smarter friend after he had explained what the Gaians planned to do to Olivia.

There was some shuffling inside Archangel and then Harry poked his head out to look at Charlie with an odd expression. "Just so I get this straight," the scientist said, "you harp on the fact that you want to go home for four years and now that we are finally here, you want to leave again as quickly as possible?"

"No!" Charlie exclaimed helplessly. "Yes. I don't know."

Harry rubbed his brow, smearing himself with some slimy orange goo that was stuck to his heavy working gloves. "Charlie, I agree that this whole breeding idea is quite horrible for Olivia. And maybe even for you and whoever else gets to father kids. But is it really bad enough to make a fuss about it?"

Charlie opened his mouth to reply, but Harry held his hand up to show that he wasn't finished. "Personally I like it here better than the Conclave. Obviously there are plenty of questionable things happening from this breeding program to the fact that they deliberately addict their pilots to mecha use…"

"Wait, what?!" Charlie interrupted his friend. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Harry blinked at him with that typical expression he had when he was thinking rapidly. "Oh, yes. You wouldn't know." He then said. "Actually, I'm not even sure the pilots know. Aidan sure didn't understand what exactly he was showing me." He smirked, clearly delighted at his own cleverness.

"Harry. What the fuck?" Charlie reminded him not to dwell on it.

"Yes. Well, you know that they use a mix of technical and bio-engineered material for their mechas, right? I got an especially good look at the interfacing array, obviously."

It wasn't obvious to Charlie at all why that would be important to Harry, but he nodded anyway. Asking questions would earn him an endless lecture on technical details he wouldn't comprehend anyway.

"The core design is the same as the one we or the Legion use. Has to be since we are all working from the same template." Harry explained, visibly delighted by the subject. "So I was rather puzzled why they have added additional bio-mech components. At first I thought they were using them to enhance control in some way, like we use the extra spinal sockets to optimize motor control. All the additional lines feed into the standard skull sockets so they had to address some part of the brain. Luckily Aidan didn't mind me running some simple diagnostics. Turns out those bio-mech components actually feed a highly addictive substance into the lymph nodes located below the ear. Your Gaian colleagues are hooked on piloting. It's quite possible withdrawal would kill them."

Charlie stared at Harry in silence. That sure was a credible reason why Olivia was willing to go through with the breeding plans, just so she would be allowed to keep piloting Mantis. It also was the kind of sinister scheming he had hoped to leave behind with the Conclave. The more he learned about the sneaky Gaian methods, the more he despised them. At least the Conclave was open and honest about what they did.

Of course Harry was entirely unfazed. "Luckily those bio-mech enhancements to the interface design are incompatible with Archangel's set up so I'm afraid we can't give you that extra buzz." He said with a smirk.

It was impossible to tell even for Charlie whether he was telling the truth or whether he was lying to protect Charlie from being controlled that way.

"Ung." Charlie voiced his displeasure at the entire mess.

"So, you see, running away is even harder for the pilots here than it was for you." Harry continued. "I suppose we could return to the Conclave, claiming this was all just a clever ploy to spy on the Gaian Collective. Though I doubt we would be trusted. I am not sure what sort of verification methods the Conclave has available, but the truth would come out sooner or later. Not that it would matter for us in the long run. After all we did come back and ultimately the Council only cares about results, not how they were obtained. But you would be back where we started. I don't think defecting to the Legion is a viable option. Being a traitor twice wouldn't look good. And frankly I really don't think we would be happier there then we are here or with the Conclave." Harry sighed deeply and Charlie echoed him. "And I really don't see any way of extracting Olivia. Even if I had an idea of the composition of the drug they are feeding their pilots - I'm not a bio-engineer. It would take me months to be able to reliably produce it."

"Couldn't we just steal it?" Charlie asked.

"And take her back to the Conclave with us?" Harry weighted his head thoughtfully. "That would of course make the return much smoother for us. Bringing back a stolen Gaian bio-mecha plus pilot. I doubt Olivia would or should go along with that, though. Do you honestly believe she would be happier at the Conclave?"

Charlie thought back to his time at the Hangar, to the constant surveillance, the control exerted over every minute of his life, to the arrogant disdain most of the scientists had treated him with. But there were also friends back there, people he still genuinely liked. Still, it wasn't a better trade than staying here. It wasn't much worse either.

"It's just wrong." He said unhappily. "I am supposed to risk my life fighting for something that is slightly less evil than the other two options?"

He immediately felt bad for saying it out loud when he saw how Harry shrugged unhappily. "I wish I had a brilliant solution, but I just don't." His friend said, hanging his head.

"No, Harry, I'm sorry." Charlie clasped Harry's shoulder in a firm grip. "It's not your fault. In fact you have tried beyond anything I would ever have expected to make it better. I still can't believe you ran away with me and Archangel. I'm sorry the Gaians aren't any better. I'm sorry I got us into this mess."

That at least seemed to cheer up Harry, as he chuckled. "Charlie, it's not your fault either. It's the fault of the Conclave Council, the Legion Senate and the Sky Clan for being incapable of putting their differences to rest so we might have a chance of working together and hauling earth out of the vortex and maybe of whatever fucked up accident which dropped earth into the vortex in the first place." He rubbed some more orange goo into his hair absentmindedly. "Give me some time to think about this and maybe I will come up with a brilliant solution anyway. I'm not Dale, I need time to plan." He added with a grin.

"You know, I wish we could talk to them." Charlie said wistfully. "To Dale and Claudia and maybe even Professor Miller. I wish we didn't have to be enemies."

"Hm, actually that is an interesting suggestion." Harry mused. "Let me think about that as well." His head disappeared inside Archangel again. "Though I have to say I'm sure babies you fathered on Olivia would be utterly adorable." He commented from the safe hiding place.

Charlie groaned. "If that happens, you get to be babysitter." He threatened. "Just imagine children climbing all over your precious equipment, pressing buttons and pulling on wires."

"You sure know how to give a man incentive to think." Harry grumbled. Then he activated some sort of infernally shrieking tool, cutting off any further conversation.


	18. Snare

Part 18 - Snare

Black Reaper dodged out under Snare's chain with a nimble grace that should have been physically impossible for such a hulking monstrosity of steel. Jess' combat skills flawlessly translated into the mecha's movements. Reaper moved like a dancer and even though Alexander should have been frustrated with his inability to hit her, he couldn't help but watch her with awe instead.

"Stop staring at Reaper's ass, Alex." Claudia's dry comment over the com pulled Alexander from his daydreaming.

"I wasn't..." he protested, but was immediately silenced by Claudia.

"Yes, you were. I can see on my control monitors where your sensors are focused, darling. And, yes you were." She chuckled, obvious more amused than annoyed at his distraction. "I don't mind you and Jess fucking, but it shouldn't interfere with your training."

It shouldn't have surprised him that she knew. After all, they hadn't exactly tried to keep it secret, which was impossible anyway with the constant surveillance. It still felt very odd to hear her say it so casually.

"Uh." He answered not very eloquently, blocking several quick jabs by Black Reaper. Jess was fighting without Reaper's trademark scythe since Alexander was just getting started on his mecha combat training and trying to get the hang of the use of Snare's chains. If she had been using the scythe, she would have sliced him in half a dozen times by now. Luckily, Snare's armour was quite thick, so in unarmed combat she only hurt his pride when she punched him.

"Actually, I thought it was quite fascinating how quickly you hooked up." Claudia continued merrily. "Apparently, there is some truth to that theory that grunts have a much higher interest in sexual activity.

The Conclave put all their citizens in one of two categories. Either you were smart enough to become a scientist and rise through the ranks or you were a grunt and forever relegated to menial tasks. Alexander had been sorted into the grunt category, which he quietly resented. Even more so since he was still trying to come up with a smart objection.

At least Claudia's chatter served to annoy him enough that he was paying more attention to the actual fight than to the fact that Jess was piloting Reaper. When she attacked with a high kick, he caught Reaper's leg. With Snare's greater weight, he pulled hard and used her momentum, almost lifting Reaper off the ground as he rolled the other mecha over Snare's hip and slammed it to the ground.

"WOAH!" Claudia exclaimed. "Easy there!" In the background of the transmission, Alexander could hear Doctor Foster screeching in rage.

Quickly he focuses his sensors on Black Reaper. He couldn't detect any serious structural damage, but there were a few dents in her back where she had landed.

"Sorry…?" he muttered, abashed.

Claudia wasn't answering, but instead talking to Doctor Foster, apologizing. Apparently the Doctor wasn't happy at all with Reaper being damaged in a mere training match.

Alexander didn't really care about whatever Doctor Foster said, but he was a little worried about Jess so he was quite relieved when Reaper heaved herself off the ground and made a placating gesture with her hands.

They both waited for their operators to get back online and Alexander had to admit that Claudia was really good at sweet talking. She still didn't manage to convince Doctor Foster to continue the training session and they were called back into the Hangar.

"That was damn awesome." Claudia quietly told him over the com, apparently making sure that Doctor Foster wasn't listening in. "And you were in perfect sync with Snare, there. Your bodily combat experience will give you a real edge if you manage to tap into it more often."

Alexander agreed. The moment he stopped thinking of controlling the mecha and just moved, it had suddenly become easy. It was probably how Jess managed to translate her combat style to Reaper so flawlessly. The more he was recovering from his time with Professor Scorten, the more he was able to put his greater experience to use in their bodily training fights and he had been winning consistently. So he should be able to do the same, once he managed to be Snare instead of piloting him more often.

"Could I stay out a little longer on my own?" he asked Claudia. "There is something I would like to try."

"Sure." She replied immediately. Even though Snare was just her secondary project besides the thesis she was working on, Alexander by now knew that she adored the mecha and genuinely enjoyed working with him. "Anything I can help with?"

"Just… uh… try to be quiet for a little while…?" he asked cautiously.

Claudia chuckled and he could clearly picture her grin in his mind. "No problemo. I'll be watching."

With Reaper gone, Snare now had the wide area outside the Hangar that was used for training with the mechas all to himself. Mostly it was a dusty wasteland dotted with occasional rocks large enough to have survived the various mock fights which had taken place here. Alexander slowly walked out a little further.

The moment when he had grappled Reaper he had been fully one with the mecha. He had been annoyed by Claudia's babbling and that in turn had mostly shut down his thinking and enabled him to just move like he was Snare. It was basically the same thing as when they practiced katas with his squad in the Legion. Forget everything but the movement.

He shut down Snare's long range sensors and reduced the audio and visual input to a minimum while leaving the tactile sensors up. It was almost like closing his eyes. The new focus made him aware of the slight breeze on Snare's metal skin. The sudden sensation made him shudder and he was delighted when Snare shook himself. 

Snare relaxed into the rest stance of his katas. The first moves still felt awkward, too slow or out of balance. But slowly Snare moved more fluidly and Alexander more and more managed to forget that he actually wasn't a giant monster of steel. He gained confidence and by the end of his usual set of katas he felt at complete ease, resting with Snare's giant clawed fists in front of his chest.

"How did that look on your end?" he asked over the com, dialling up the sensor input back to normal.

"Spectacular." Claudia answered, sounding honestly impressed. "Sync was between 95% and 98% the whole time." He heard her type something. "How do you feel?" she then asked. "Any strain? Headache?"

After so thoroughly becoming Snare it was hard to focus on his meat body again. Usually he managed to retain some awareness of it, but this time he really didn't feel anything. "I'm not sure." He answered. "I think I'll have to jack out to tell you." So far he had always suffered from mild headaches after extended sessions with Snare. Maybe he had finally figured out a way to avoid those as well.

"Data looks good on my end, but I'd like you to come back in now." Claudia said. "Just to be sure you don't suffer any after effects."

Alexander agreed. He walked back to the Hangar, enjoying the new awareness of Snare's movements. He brought Snare back to his parking spot.

"Ready to disengage?" Claudia asked.

Snare nodded and Alexander laughed as he realized what he had just done. "Ready." He answered.

The first thing he felt with his body was the odd sensation of the prongs withdrawing from his sockets. Then he became more aware. As always he was feeling a bit numb from sitting without moving at all for such a long time, but apart from that, there was no discomfort. He shook out his hands first, trying to get some life back into them. Then he slowly got up.

"No headache as far as I can tell." He told Claudia.

"Yep, all vital sign in the green." She confirmed. "That was the standard unarmed combat training routine of Legion soldiers, wasn't it?"

The fact that she knew there was something like that and that she was able to recognize it from Snare's movements was somewhat disturbing, but Alexander didn't comment on it. He was still startled frequently by how much the Conclave scientist seemed to know about pretty much everything, but he was getting better at hiding it. "Yeah." He answered instead.

"Seems to work just fine on mechas as well." Claudia stated cheerfully. "I'll have to show Dale the footage I got from you. I'm sure he'll be interested in learning what and how you did there. Speaking of which: I'll ask him to take over as your sparring partner with Prometheus. Doctor Foster refuses to let you anywhere near Black Reaper again. She was really pissed. Prometheus should be much better suited than Reaper anyway, he is a lot less fragile."

Alexander clearly detected the haughty disdain in her voice. The fact that she didn't like Doctor Foster seamlessly translated into her thinking of Reaper as a lesser mecha. An assessment Alexander didn't agree with. It was just a mecha with different strength and weaknesses than Snare or Prometheus. So far he had never seen the Conclave mechas train together. There were occasional sparring matches between two of them, but never training as a unit. They would probably have been a lot more effective working together in combat, but Alexander carefully didn't mention that. After all, he wasn't planning to give the Conclave any more advantage over the Legion than they already had.

He climbed out onto the scaffolding outside Snare and down to where Claudia was sitting in her nest of monitoring equipment.

"If you keep improving at this rate we'll have you ready for actual missions in no time." Claudia said, smiling at him proudly.

Fighting against Legion mechas, Alexander thought. Still he couldn't help feeling eager to take Snare into a real fight. 

He stretched his arms over his head and rolled his shoulders which resulted in his stomach rumbling angrily.

Claudia laughed. "Time to feed my great warrior."


	19. Hall of Heroes

"What the FUCK did you think you were doing?!" Commander Darius sounded angry enough to rip someone's head off.

Even through the painful thrumming in his head, Tiberius felt vaguely grateful that the man's anger was not directed at him.

"I was teaching that stupid bitch a lesson!" he heard Lucius reply, no less heated.

"Please tell me how many fingers I am holding up." The medic crouched in front of Tiberius asked.

Tiberius tried to focus on him and was rewarded with another stab of pain, lancing through his skull. The medic's hands were doing a merry dance in front of his eyes, shifting in and out of focus. He closed his eyes tightly, fighting down nausea. When he opened them again, the many hands mercifully merged into one with three fingers extended.

"It was his very first training with a mecha and you ram him at full tilt?!" There was the unmistakable sound of someone being shoved back against a wall. "You sick, little fuck! You could have killed the boy! I swear to Zeus if I didn't need you so badly right now I would have you shot!"

"Three." Tiberius belatedly answered the medic's question.

The man sighed with obvious relief. "Yes. Very good."

Tiberius tried to put on a brave smile, but quickly aborted the effort when the pull of muscles in his face made his head hurt even more.

"You can't touch me and you know it!" Lucius sneered, un-cowed by Darius threat.

"I think it's save to inject you with some painkillers." The medic continued their own conversation, ignoring the shouting right behind him. Tiberius almost didn't feel the sting of the injector in his arm over the pounding in his head. "If your feeling of dizziness increases please call immediately. Or if any other symptoms manifest. I will check on you again in two hours."

Tiberius kept himself from nodding obediently. "I will."

"I confine you to your quarters!" Commander Darius growled. "There will be guards in front of your door. This is NOT over!"

From where he was sitting on the ground, leaning against Hector's giant foot, Tiberius had a great view of a fuming Lucius getting flanked by two legionnaires and marched off.

"Will he be okay?" Tiberius heard Merou ask in a much softer voice. He slowly turned his head over to where his room mate was standing with Toni, the pilot of Ajax.

Tiberius had met him only this morning for the first time, right before they had gone out for their first training session. He and Merou had jacked into their mechas Hector and Achilles twice before, but this had been supposed to be their first tentative combat trial. Of course, Lucius had used the opportunity to make good on his threat and attacked Tiberius when he least expected it. He probably hadn't been trying to outright kill Tiberius, but he sure wouldn't have mourned if it had happened. Still both Achilles and Ajax had intervened immediately, putting themselves between Hector and Perseus.

"The medic didn't look too worried so I'm guessing it's not as bad as it looked." Toni was answering Merou's question.

Ajax's pilot was in his early thirties with dark hair shorn close to his skull and cheerful brown eyes. He looked like a guy who liked to get into mischief, but not like the dangerous rebel Cassius had tried to make him out to be. Tiberius had hoped to invite Toni up to his apartment after this training session to get to know him. But now he wasn't sure how he was even going to get up there himself.

The medic took that worry of his shoulders, waving Merou over. "Take your master up to his quarters and make him comfortable in bed." He commanded. "Make sure he doesn't fall asleep and if he gets sick call me immediately."

Tiberius expected Merou to bristle at being ordered around and at Tiberius being called his master, but instead Merou nodded meekly. Despite his feral posturing he was a nice guy and apparently his worry about Tiberius weighed heavier than his pride. At least it was proof that they were slowly becoming friends, just like Tiberius had hoped they would. A hard earned friendship indeed if he had to get beaten up by Lucius for it to show.

Merou was about to help Tiberius to his feet under the concerned observation of the medic when Commander Darius came over to them.

"How is he?" he asked grimly.

"He definitely has a concussion." The medic answered briskly. "Minor bruises. Luckily the interfacing array seems undamaged." He glared at the Commander. "I don't think I have to tell you that newly installed headware is quite fragile until the body has fully integrated it. I strongly advise you keep your pilots under a much tighter control."

Darius looked like he was ready to spit nails. He probably hadn't expected Lucius to be so foolish as to attack on the first chance he got. It would have been much smarter to wait until they were in a real battle. Accidents happened, after all. Apparently Lucius was just arrogant and a good pilot but not very smart. Or maybe Tiberius had riled him up so much he didn't care. 

The fact that Darius clearly favoured Tiberius over Lucius wouldn't have helped. After Tiberius had explained to the Commander why exactly he had taken custody of Merou, Darius had been more than happy in supporting his fabricated story of the whole thing being Darius idea in the first place. In fact he had been delighted when Tiberius had managed to talk Merou into starting his mecha training without any resistance. That Merou was still planning to use his mecha to escape and ideally kill as many Legion soldiers as possible in the process had not been mentioned to the Commander. After today's encounter with Lucius, Tiberius idly wondered if he wouldn't be better off in joining Merou.

"Don't worry, son." Darius gruffly told Tiberius. "I'll deal with Lucius."

Tiberius didn't reply and instead let Merou help him to his feet, leaning heavily on the taller warrior. After all, there really wasn't much Darius could do to Lucius. Send him off to bed without dessert, Tiberius thought with dry humour. No, he'd have to figure out a way to deal with Lucius himself. Once he could think clearly again. The world was spinning merrily around him as Merou led him to their quarters. Tiberius was pretty sure he was taking about a million extra stairs to get there, just to torment him.

By the time Merou gently lowered him to their bed, Tiberius was ready to beg him for a mercy killing. He quickly changed his mind when the end of moving about resulted in the painkiller finally kicking in and the piercing pain in his skull faded to a dull throb.

Merou flopped down on the bed next to him, clearly taking the medic's orders to watch Tiberius quite seriously. Tiberius closed his eyes and tried to will the room to stop its gentle swaying.

"I can't believe you just stood there and let him ram you." Merou said after a while.

"Are you going to lecture me?" Tiberius asked without bothering to open his eyes.

Merou snorted. "I should. You had plenty of time to dodge him."

"I'm not sure how you managed to miss the fact that I am not a junior hero like you." Tiberius answered without rancour. "I don't know how to fight."

He listened to Merou grumble something unintelligible under his breath. "You need to learn." Merou finally grumbled. "I'll teach you."

Now Tiberius blinked his eyes open and slowly turned his head to look at his room mate. "Are you sure?" It wasn't an offer Tiberius had expected. After all Merou had proven quite happy to remind Tiberius at every opportunity that he could tear his head off whenever he pleased. "After all I might be able to fight you off then."

Merou rubbed his bearded chin, looking chagrined. "I'm not an idiot, Tiberius. I know you could use this damned collar to shock me unconscious any time you please." He clicked his fingernail against the metal collar around his neck. "But you haven't. In fact you have been nothing but kind and patient with me." He looked over at Tiberius, who realized that he had never seen such genuine smile on the other man's face. "I'm grateful for that. And I trust you."

There was something immensely refreshing and reassuring about someone being so plainly honest. With a deep sigh, Tiberius allowed himself to relax and sink against Merou, leaning his aching head against his shoulder.

"Thank you." He said, hoping that Merou would understand how much he meant with that.

In turn Merou poked his side, apparently done with the sappiness of the moment. "You're still not allowed to fall asleep. Head wounds are nasty business."

He would know, of course. Probably had a score of gruesome stories to tell. Maybe this was a chance to learn more about his life before he had been captured by the Legion. "Tell me of your tribe to keep me awake?" Tiberius pleaded. 

So far Merou had refused such questions, probably to keep his people safe from further raids, but now he chuckled indulgently. "My uncle suffered a wound like that when he hunted a dragonet to impress the girl who would later become my aunt." He began.


	20. The Den, Charlie's quarters

Charlie surveyed his loot with quiet satisfaction. A sizable heap of various articles of clothing in different earthy colours sat on his bed. There were pants of different cuts, long and short sleeved shirts and tunics, a long and a short coat, a pair each of sandals, shoes and boots. A full wardrobe of everything one needed to look like a proper Gaian Collective citizen.

After overhearing how Commander Sky treated Olivia, he had been loath to ask her about anything. Instead he had turned his many questions on how things worked for the pilots at the Den to Raphael. It had turned out that like the Conclave, the Gaians provided whatever their pilots needed instead of paying them a salary. Not very surprising, since that allowed them a much tighter control over them. But at least they had a quartermaster who acted as a kind of shop where the pilots and Den staff could pick out what they wanted.

He would have felt bad about robbing that shop of everything he liked before he learned of Commander Sky's plans. Now he felt like it was the least they could do to appease him. And if they did have to run again, at least he could get as much out of his time here as possible. Wearing dark brown pants of soft leather and a short sleeved blue tunic with a leather belt, he felt much better than with the endlessly boring coveralls everyone at the Conclave used. Maybe he hated what the Gaians were doing to their pilots, but it was still where he had grown up, where he felt at home. 

Humming softly to himself he started putting his new clothes into the trunk at the bottom of his bed. He was almost done when there was a knock on his door. He wasn't really expecting anyone. Harry was on another excursion with Aidan, who was showing him the bio-plants, where the mecha parts were grown.

"Come in." he called.

The door was opened tentatively and after a short moment Olivia poked her head inside. "Hi." She said with a cautious smile.

Charlie answered with a wide smile of his own. They had seen each other of course during meals since that ugly moment in the pavilion, but they hadn't talked about it again. In fact Charlie had felt like Olivia was carefully avoiding him, which he couldn't really blame her for, even though he felt sorry about it. He would have liked to get to know her better, but certainly wouldn't push her now.

"Hey, how are you?" he asked, gesturing invitingly.

She hesitated again, but then entered his room, closing the door behind her. "Good, I suppose." She answered with am insecure shrug. 

She looked rather uncomfortable and Charlie raked his brain what he might do to reassure her. She looked around his room like she was looking for something, but then she focused back on.

"Charlie… uh… I need to… talk to you… about something." She sounded like she was forcing the words out and she was nervously fingering the hem of her shirt.

"Sure." Charlie nodded and tried another friendly smile. It seemed to have the reverse effect of what he was aiming for, as she stepped from one foot to the other like she was standing on hot coals.

"Just… please don't freak out, okay…?"

Olivia looked so scared that Charlie nodded again, even though he was starting to feel a little worried himself now. He had no idea what she was going to say, but it sure didn't sound like it would be anything good.

"I have talked to Commander Sky again… about their breeding program…" Olivia continued haltingly. She drew a deep breath. "I asked to have you as my… as… well… you know…"

Charlie blinked at her in surprise. Apart from the fact that he didn't approve of the whole idea in the first place he had no idea why she would want him for it. After all, they barely knew each other while she had known Raphael and Mouse since she had become a pilot. "Me?" he asked, trying hard not to sound as horrified as he was of the plan in general. "Why me?"

Now Olivia smiled shyly. "Because you are nice." She said softly and took a small step towards him, tentatively reaching out her hand for him.

There really wasn't anything else Charlie could do but take it. Like she had done in the pavilion she hesitated only a moment and then stepped close enough to lean against him. Her hair smelled faintly of cornflowers and her smaller body fit right against his.

"Raphael is almost old enough to be my father." She added softly. "And Mouse… he is kind but he's…" she gestured helplessly with one hand. "He is so huge…" She tilted her head and looked up at him with a hopeful smile. "And I like how you feel, like open plains and wind in the grass."

Smiling, she looked both beautiful and terribly vulnerable and Charlie had to fight the urge to destroy anyone and anything that might hurt her. Pulling her tighter against him he wondered why he still felt reluctant to agree. After all she was perfect for him. He had wanted her right from the first moment he saw her…

With a startled gasp he let go of her and stumbled backwards. "What… no…" he muttered, screwing his eyes shut. That simply wasn't true. Then he remembered what else she had told him in the pavilion. That she was a low level psychic. Apparently, not to low level after all. He still felt the urge to take her back into his arms. When he opened his eyes, though, he clearly recognized the expression on her face as fear mixed with concentration.

"Olivia, stop it." He demanded, fighting her hold over him.

Her expression shifted to such desolate despair that it nearly broke his heart. It felt like a thin veil being pulled off him as she let go of the last shreds of control she had over him. He now saw clearly how pale she was from her effort and she looked at the same time tougher and more fragile as she moved back from him.

"I… I'm sorry… I…" she whispered, obviously ready to run.

He quickly stepped forward and caught her in his arms again. For a moment she struggled, but then she slumped against him in defeat.

"Did you do that to Commander Sky too, to get your way?" he asked softly.

She nodded against his chest without daring to look up at him.

Charlie couldn't help but chuckle. That definitely was the first time any girl had gone to such great length to get him into bed.

"I can only do it when there is something there already." She said, her explanation muffled against him. "I told her how it would be a great way to bind you to the Gaian cause, if you had a child with me… and then I pushed just enough."

"Well, you pushed too much right there with me." Charlie answered.

Olivia shuddered against him and tried to separate from him. "I'm sorry. I should… go…"

"Don't be silly." He gently laid a finger under her chin to raise her face so she had to look at him. "I'm… kind of flattered."

"What?" She looked adorably confused.

Charlie shrugged. "It must be terribly important to you if you try so hard to make me agree."

She tried turned away. "Yeah… I guess I have ruined any chance I had, now."

"I would have said yes anyway." Charlie told her gently and marvelled at how sweet her disbelief looked.

"But you said… in the pavilion… that you would never…"

"You have little enough choice in the matter." Charlie interrupted her. "I certainly will not take away from you what little choice you do have." He gently cupped her cheek in his hand. "And it's not like the act in itself will be a hardship for me. I just loathe that we are forced into this."

Olivia frowned at him and he wondered if he had said something wrong, but then she said: "I didn't push you to say that…" as if she could hardly believe he could possibly like her on his own.

He laughed. "You didn't have to."

"Oh." Finally it dawned on her and she smiled at him sheepishly, looking much more herself than the acted damsel in distress she had presented to convince him when she came in. "Uh… I guess I look like a complete idiot now…" she said, but still smiled.

"A little bit." He drew her over to his bed and sat next to her. "So what happens now?" he asked matter-of-factly.

"They'll start giving us shots to up fertility. Commander Sky says it will take about a week for them to fully affect us." Olivia explained. "And then… well…" She blushed. "I guess then we try to make a baby."

Charlie felt crowded by all that entailed so he asked the first question that sprang to his mind. "Are… are they going to watch us…?" He knew that at the Conclave it would have been a carefully monitored process, probably with a score of scientists in the room who commented on their performance and issued advice and corrections.

"They better not." Olivia snarled, clearly outraged by the mere suggestion. Charlie very much hoped she was right.

"How will they know anyway, whether the baby is a pilot? How early can they test for it?" he asked, not wanting to dwell on the subject.

Olivia shrugged. "Commander Sky says they have the equipment to successfully test the baby at about six months of age. Apparently it's a lot more complicated than the tests they do on teenagers so they don't do it on the general populace." She smiled with an edge of malice. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if our baby tested negative?"

Charlie frowned. "I have a feeling that wouldn't deter them much. They'd just try Raphael or Mouse next."

"True." Olivia leaned her head against his shoulder, looking exhausted. 

The rollercoaster of emotions was taking a toll on her. Charlie decided that now wasn't a good time to tell her about the fact that he didn't plan to idly let the Gaians do to them whatever they pleased. He certainly wouldn't allow them to force his children to become helplessly addicted pilots fighting in a war that seemed more and more pointless the longer he thought about it. He would wait until Harry came up with a brilliant idea. Which he hopefully would soon.

"Do you want to take a nap?" he asked Olivia. "I promise I won't let anyone disturb you here."

She nodded sleepily. Maybe it also was the attempt at manipulation him that had drained her. She didn't resist when he tucked her into his bed.

With a sigh, Charlie looked down at her and then rubbed his face. This was definitely not what he had hoped for when he desperately clung to the idea of running away from the Conclave. But he'd deal with it one way or another. It's wasn't like he had much of a choice in the matter.


	21. The Hangar, Claudia's Lab

"Don't be nervous, Dale. You have done this several times and you have never made a mistake." 

Claudia's voice was the same calm, almost sing-song tone she used when she had been talking him through one of his initial panic attacks when he was jacked into Snare, Alexander recognized. Now that he saw with his own eyes on what occasion she had practiced it, his respect for her grew tremendously.

Not as much as his firm belief that she was completely insane, though.

It was the first time he was in her laboratory and now it made sense why she only needed such a small cell to sleep in. It was quite obvious that the lab was the place where she actually lived. Every available surface was covered with what Alexander once more could only term clutter. By now he was quite sure that all of the weird tools, parts and notes had an order to them that was perfect for Claudia - to him they were undecipherable. The walls were covered with whiteboards, all filled with Claudia's tiny, tight script. None of which made any sense to Alexander either.

Still he was trying hard to look at the boards and the clutter. Anything that would distract him from what Claudia and Dale were doing on the large table at the centre of the lab.

For the hundredth time he asked himself why he had insisted on coming along. It had seemed like a good idea then. He's have a much easier time believing what Claudia claimed she was doing to herself and he might even pick up some important details he would be able to take away to the Legion, when he found a way to escape.

"It's no difference that doing maintenance on Prometheus." Claudia's calming voice continued. "See? Your hand is nice and steady."

He hadn't expected that it would be Dale who carefully cut Claudia open to reach the muscles in her left shoulder. Neither had he expected that Claudia would be conscious during such a procedure, only the immediately area of the operation sedated, and that she was watching on a monitor, giving Dale precise directions on what to do. At least Dale looked reasonably calm and competent at what he was doing.

It was creepy and nauseating and made him wish to be anywhere but here and that he hadn't eaten lunch at all.

Least of all he had expected the chocking panic he felt at the thought that something might go wrong, that Claudia might be hurt, crippled or killed by her daredevil approach to science. The worst part was that he was afraid for her, not for what might happen to him, should she no longer be his handler. He wasn't supposed to care for her, yet he couldn't help it.

That thought led to the realization that she would surely be punished if he escaped and that he didn't want that. It sent his thoughts into a hectic but futile loop.

"All right, there we are." Claudia said with eerie cheer. "Looks very good."

Alexander made the mistake of looking over at them and got a great view of Claudia's opened shoulder on the large monitor positioned where she could best view it. She was lying flat on her belly, he head turned to the side so she could watch. Alexander's stomach made a painful flip and he quickly closed his eyes, fighting his lunch back down.

"Now, you have worked on this one before so you know what to do." Claudia's voice droned on. "First give me a close up scan please, so I can judge how well the last treatment has taken."

Alexander heard Dale rummage on his tray of tools and then some regular beeping. The sound reminded him of the infernal machine that Professor Scorten had used to turn him into pilot. That beeping and the incessant sound of voices speaking had followed him into his nightmares. He had tried to hang on to the voices, to try and comprehend what they were saying, but the pain had always overwhelmed him soon enough.

He quickly opened his eyes again, before the same panic could overwhelm him now.

Claudia knows what she is doing, he firmly told himself. He still had a hard time believing it as he watched with Claudia and Dale as data scrolled by on a second monitor. To him it was all meaningless, but Claudia made some very pleased sounds.

"Oh, look at that, 7,3% independent growth!" she exclaimed happily. "I didn't expect the theta serum to be that effective. Mmh… we'll have to shift the main strand a little to accommodate the next enhancement." She used her non-sedated right arm to point out something on the monitor displaying her cut open shoulder with a light pen. "There, if you lift here and here you will create enough room for the nano solution."

Dale nodded. "Yes, I see it." He confirmed and turned back to the try to pick up more surgical instruments.

Alexander breathed slowly through his nose. They were insane scientists, but brilliant kids at the same time. That he was feeling entirely helpless and useless didn't mean they were as well.

"Have you given more thought to the problem of enhancing bone and tendons as well?" Dale asked Claudia conversationally while he got to work.

"Yeah, I've done quite a bit of research and some preliminary projections. I'll need to run a lot more simulations." Claudia answered as if they were having a perfectly normal conversation. "I'd need a proper medically trained assistant for work on bones, though. So it's off the table until I get my Doctor title."

Dale nodded. "I don't think you are far off from it. I mean, it's pretty obvious your thesis is sound by now. You really only need to write up the whole thing and hand it in to the review board. You really deserve your Doctor."

That at least Alexander agreed with. Anyone who went to such length for science deserved some sort of recognition.

With a soundless sigh he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the wall. He hadn't asked how long this procedure would take, but it looked like it would be quite long. A perfect chance really, to face his deeply rooted fear of labs and surgical cutting instruments. The temptation of simply ignoring what was going on and thinking of something pleasant was great. Things like Jess. Or jacking into Snare. 

He smiled with amusement as he realized that at some point in the last three weeks thinking of Snare had turned from terrifying to a welcome escape. When he was jacked into the mecha, there was nothing to fear, he was more powerful than he could ever have dreamed, protected by tons of steel. Doing his katas with Snare every morning was showing quite an effect. His sync rating had increased to a steady minimum of 90%. 

Sparring with Prometheus was fun as well. The stolen Legion mecha was quite a bit heavier than Snare still and would have provided a good challenge if Dale hadn't proved surprisingly inexperienced at actual combat. He of course knew the capabilities of his mecha like the back of his hand, but he wasn't a trained fighter. But Dale wasn't a sore loser, instead he was eager to learn anything Alexander was showing him. Of course he shouldn't have. After all, Dale was an enemy of the Legion.

That he would at some point face Prometheus and Dale not in a mock fight with friendly banter exchanged over the com - but on a real battle field, fighting to hurt and kill - Alexander wasn't sure how to deal with that. 

Even less when it came to Jess and Black Reaper. 

He shouldn't have started seeing Dale and Claudia and Jess as friends. But it was happening and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

All too soon, though, it would be Legion mechas he faced off against. After Claudia's last report to Doctor Lunay, they now were officially approved for active duty. The next flotsam impact would see them heading out together with the other Conclave mechas. It was hard to reconcile the fact that he would likely be forced to fight against his own people with how eager he was to finally take Snare into battle. It was wrong, but he wanted to test his mettle in a real combat situation more than he cared who he would be fighting.

With another sigh, he realized that he had distracted himself after all. Maybe this whole operation wasn't all that terrible after all if he managed to get so very bored by it. He re-crossed his arms and tried to get more comfortable.

Claudia and Dale were still discussing the details of Claudia's work and still making no sense to him. He wondered whether they would even notice if he quietly slipped out. It wasn't like they needed him for anything. And it wasn't running away if he left because he was bored, he told himself. 

He could do something much more useful. Like doing another set of cardiac training, after all he still wasn't quite back to his former fitness. Or finding Jess to see whether she was in the mood for some fucking. Or watching some more of the animated entertainment programs Claudia had given him.

Dale did look up from his work when he opened the lab door to slip outside, but he only smiled and nodded to him, silently giving him permission to find some more amusing activity.

With a final sigh he closed the door behind him and he admitted to himself that the Conclave was right in their assessment of him - he really was a grunt and lacked any motivation to be more than a soldier who followed orders.


	22. Hall of Heroes, Tiberius' quarters

Tiberius walked back into the bedroom, feeling ready to scream or throw things at other things. Preferably hard, pointy things at living, sentient things.

Merou was still comfortably lying on his belly on the bed, reading one of the many comic books that were part of the apartment's library. There was a whole stack of un-read comics next to him. His reading skills weren't stellar, but he was steadily improving on them. 

He looked entirely unperturbed by Tiberius' pacing, with only made him more agitated.

Ten minutes had passed since Cassius had left. Of course the intelligence officer had not been allowed into the bedroom where he might have said something stupid to aggravate Merou. Instead he had said plenty of stupid things thoroughly aggravating Tiberius.

It was quite obvious that the visit's purpose had been to calm his ruffled feathers. Cassius had spoken at length about how very sorry he was about the unfortunate accident caused by Lucius on the previous day. About how he had already spoken to Lucius and would do so again to ensure that such events would not see a repeat. How he very much hoped that said unfortunate accident would not stand in the way of all of them working together. How he was sure that if they both tried, Tiberius and Lucius would become the best of friends. After all they were all fighting for the same thing here. The glory of the Legion. Tiberius would have felt sorry for him since Cassius was really just trying to get his job done, if the man hadn't proven to be an asshole so thoroughly before.

Tiberius had no idea whether Lucius had kicked Cassius out of his quarters hissing and screaming or whether he had acted all contrite and now planned a more cautious approach to get rid of Tiberius. He was very sure that Lucius had no intention whatsoever to become friends with Tiberius.

He had bitten his tongue to keep from telling Cassius exactly that. After all, there was no point in digging his heels in and refusing to ever work with Lucius again. That option didn't exist and he didn't really want to find out how Legion command would deal with such a problem between their pilots. It probably would be exceedingly unpleasant for everyone involved.

So he had smiled and promised to do his best to get along with his fellow pilot. Even though he knew that Lucius would do no such thing. And neither Cassius nor Commander Darius would be able to do anything about it.

Then he had started pacing, trying to come up with a way to avoid getting killed. It had made him realize how small the apartment really was. And that - while he could have extended his pacing to the whole of the Hall of Heroes - he essentially was a prisoner.

"How can you just lie there so calmly!" He exploded, stopping at the foot of the monstrous bed. "Being locked in here is driving me insane!"

Merou looked up from his reading with a startled and decidedly amused expression. "You are telling me that you feel locked in?" he asked mockingly. "Really?"

With an exasperated groan Tiberius dropped onto the bed as well. Of course Merou was right. He had a lot more reason to feel like a captive. The logical thought didn't help Tiberius at all in feeling less trapped. He drew breath for more complaints, but Merou interrupted him before he could voice them.

"You realize the easiest solution is if you just kill Lucius first, you know?" he suggested calmly.

Tiberius stared at him in silent dread. Of course he knew that. He had never killed anyone in his life and he hadn't planned to ever do so. That was the precise reason he hadn't wanted to join the military and decided on a medical career instead. Obviously, piloting a mecha he would be forced to kill someone sooner or later. One more reason why he was feeling like the walls were closing in on him.

Merou watched him silently, probably trying to decipher his thoughts. "If you have a problem with killing a fellow Legion boy, I can do it." He offered helpfully.

Rubbing his face, Tiberius tried to find a way to express how everything was exactly like he didn't want it to be. He didn't get the chance as someone chose that moment to knock on the outer door of the apartment.

"I'll answer it." Merou said with a comforting pad to Tiberius' shoulder.

At least Tiberius didn't have to worry anymore about Merou attacking anyone that wasn't him on sight. He might be an uneducated savage, but he also was smart enough to know when and where to pick his fights. A skill that Tiberius was still sorely lacking in. He suspected that Merou was even enjoying occasionally playing the obedient slave, silently laughing about the dumb Legion personnel who didn't question his sudden servility.

He still listened for trouble. After all it might be Janus, making an appearance to deliver his own apologies. He certainly wouldn't allow himself to be outdone by Cassius. And Tiberius wasn't sure at all that Merou's calm would extend to the man he had solemnly promised to kill.

"I was told your master asked to see me?" A man's voice said, after Merou opened the door.

It took Tiberius a moment to remember that he had asked earlier asked Darius, whether he could send up Toni so they might spend some time together and get to know each other. Of course Toni wouldn't know what to expect and much less that Merou only pretended to be Tiberius good little slave. Luckily that misconception would be cleared up easily enough

"Ah, yes. Do come in." Merou said and Tiberius heard the door close again, cutting off any curious ears and eyes.

That they might be under surveillance even in his own quarters had occurred much too late to Tiberius. By then he and Merou had already made it abundantly clear in their interactions to any secret observer that Tiberius had no intention to make Merou his bedwarmer, like he had claimed he would. They would have been well and truly screwed. 

Fate - or in this case Lucius' primadonna behaviour - had interfered in their favour.

Tiberius had worriedly asked Commander Darius about surveillance of his apartment as soon as the man appeared to find out why Tiberius considered it a good idea to claim a fellow pilot as a bed slave. The Commander had chuckled and told both of them of an incident which had taken place about two years earlier.

Up until then all pilot quarters had been under surveillance. Then some greedy security guard had liberated some recordings of Lucius under his shower to make some extra money on the side, selling them off to magazines and interested private parties. The man had been caught of course and made to pay in a most gruesome manner. That hadn't been enough for Lucius, though, who had forced the security detail at the Hall of Heroes to disable all surveillance of his rooms.

That courtesy had naturally been extended to Tiberius - he being the son of a senator and even more influential in the eyes of Cassius and Janus.

Tiberius got up from the bed and quickly tried to put his dishevelled hair back into some semblance of civility. Then he emerged from the bedroom with what he hoped was a friendly smile, swallowing down any remaining anger at his situation.

"Hey." He greeted Toni, who was standing in the middle of the living room, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "I wanted to have a chance to thank you." Tiberius said, his smile growing more genuine when he saw how Toni instantly relaxed. "You didn't have to step in when Lucius attacked me. I very much appreciate that."

The older pilot shrugged, but it was obvious that Tiberius had found the exact right opening. "You're welcome." Toni said.

"We also thought it might be nice to get to know each other." Merou chimed in. 

His speaking out of turn like that thoroughly startled Toni and he looked at Tiberius like he was expecting him to correct Merou's behaviour. Not surprising, considering he wore the same standard slave collar Merou was outfitted with. He probably was unpleasantly familiar with constantly being reminded of his status.

Tiberius just grinned. "And we also should explain that I only claimed Merou as my slave to make sure he doesn't fall prey to the tender mercies of Janus."

"We are friends." Merou added, his words a lot more credible than Tiberius, of course. "We'd like you as our friend as well."

Toni looked back and forth between them, but then he slowly smiled. "Well, I kind of expected you to ally yourself with Lucius." He said to Tiberius. "But now that I have seen the two of you in one room I can see why that wouldn't work."

"He's not looking for allies." Tiberius answered. "He's looking for minions." He gestured for Toni to make himself comfortable on the hulking couch, where Merou was already sitting.

"Don't I know it…" Toni chuckled darkly and settled himself. "I'm guessing the Commander know about…?" he gestured between Tiberius and Merou.

Tiberius nodded. "Yeah, he approves. He's hoping to get some team spirit going among us pilots." He went over to the bar and got beer bottles for all of them. By the way Toni's eyes lit up when he offered one of the bottles to him he could tell that it was a rare treat to Toni. 

"So what do you hope to get out of this?" Toni asked quite smartly.

"To survive." Tiberius answered without hesitation. That wasn't quite true for Merou who had no intention of staying one minute past a good chance at escape, but luckily Toni missed the small frown on the red-head's face.

Instead he raised his beer bottle, toasting both of them. "Fair enough. That's a goal I can get behind."


	23. The Den, Olivia's quarters

Charlie woke from the feeling of something warm and soft snuggling up against his back. It was accompanied by warm breath ghosting against his neck and the sound of a small, content sigh.

His fuzzy mind needed quite a while to inform him that this wasn't some exceedingly pleasant dream, but real, physical sensations. He needed even longer to find an explanation.

Then memories rose from the morass of sleepiness like angry bees from a disturbed hive and he realized where he was.

He had fallen asleep in Olivia's bed.

Something that he very much had planned not to do. After all he didn't want to inflict his presence on her more than absolutely necessary. Then why is she snuggling against me like that, a hopeful and stupidly romantic part of his mind asked. Because she probably is still asleep, the logical part replied harshly. She doesn't know what she is doing. After last night's show she certainly wouldn't want me here.

"I don't know what you are chastising yourself over, but would you please stop it?" Olivia's sleepy voice murmured against his neck. "You are disrupting my wake up cuddles."

That pretty much silenced the logical part of Charlie's mind and the hopelessly romantic part took the chance to do a little victory dance.

"Much better." Olivia commented and snug one arm under Charlie's and around his chest to hug him closer against her, her small breasts pressing against his back. 

Charlie gently laid his own larger hand over hers. It felt stupidly good to feel her relax against him like this and for a moment he wondered if she was manipulating his emotions again. But then he shook off the notion. Why shouldn't it feel good? She was a beautiful and capable young woman and if the Gaian leadership hadn't interfered so rudely they might have found each other attractive all on their own.

Maybe he wasn't as smart as Harry, but Charlie thought he didn't look too bad and he considered himself a nice enough guy. Why shouldn't a girl fall for him? After all she wouldn't know from looking at him how embarrassing it would be to get him in bed.

"You're not still beating yourself up over last night, are you?" Olivia admonished gently.

There really was no point in lying to a psychic so Charlie chose damning silence.

"Seriously?" Olivia didn't move from her spot, but her hand traced calming circles on Charlie's chest. "It really wasn't a problem. We got it to work, didn't we?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure you would have vastly preferred a partner who didn't need quite so much effort on your part." Charlie answered unhappily.

He felt his ears prickle with a rising blush once more. At least she could only sense and not see it. He still had no clue why his body had so vehemently refused to perform. After all Olivia was plenty pretty and desirable. And he had never had any problems with the various lab assistants and tech workers who wanted a hot night with a pilot back at the Hangar.

She chuckled softly and nuzzled his neck. "You're an idiot." She said fondly. "Let me clue you in on something here. I was scared yesterday. Stupidly scared. For some reason I kept thinking you were just pretending you were nice and as soon as you got me naked you'd to terrible things to me…"

"I would never…!" Charlie tried to interrupt her, but stopped when she placed a finger against his lips.

"So when you couldn't get it up… seriously, my fear died a quick and horrible death. You were just so… desolate. And adorable." She finished.

It made sense of course, but Charlie couldn't help frowning petulantly. "Thanks… I guess." He grumbled.

Olivia kissed his neck and then nibbled her way up to his earlobe. "Still feeling bad?" she asked breathily. 

It made shivers run up and down Charlie's spine and stirred his traitorous cock who had so stubbornly refused to obey last night. "I… uh… I'm not sure I can repeat that performance…" he said, trying to be humorous and not to read too much interest in Olivia's actions. After all they were just doing this to get her pregnant. And maybe she was already pregnant and they didn't need any repeat at all. Drugged to the gills with fertilization drugs as they were, Commander Sky had assured them it wouldn't take much at all to get Olivia pregnant. And they would be able to tell after just a few days.

"Oh, I'm sure I can get you going again." Olivia purred against his ear, misunderstanding what he was trying to say.

Charlie chuckled and gently guided her hand down his chest to where his cock lay hard against his belly. "I mean I don't think I'll be able not to get hard when you keep snuggling against me like that." He said.

He had fully prepared himself for her questing fingers to withdraw, followed by her putting some distance between them. Instead she mirrored his chuckle and her fingers tip-toed down the length of his cock.

"Well, hello there," Olivia murmured, sounding very pleased with herself, "learned that I'm your new best friend, have you…?"

It took a moment for Charlie to realize that she was actually talking to his cock. He couldn't help a low moan escaping him as she wrapped her long fingers around him, just like she had down the previous night. Only this time he was hard and ready. She was quite right in her assessment, he decided.

"That's my boy," she continued in the same low, purring voice, "now you behave like you should."

"Please tell me you aren't just playing with him…" Charlie groaned.

Olivia gently pulled, until he turned over on his back so they could look at each other. In the low light of early day-pulse, she looked plain beautiful, her fine hair sticking in all directions, the imprint of her pillow still showing on her right cheek.

"Way I see it, I better use the opportunity before they confirm I'm pregnant and you escape from my clutches." She said, smiling a little sadly.

With a start Charlie realized that she was feeling the same thing he did - that she really actually wanted him, despite how they had been forced together. And that she expected him not to want her, much as he had thought the same of her. Probably didn't trust what she sensed from him, thinking it was just wishful thinking, just like he had been trying to convince himself that the little signs he had seen in her were just his foolish hope.

He tugged some strands of her hair behind her ear gently. "You know, maybe we'll have to keep at." He suggested with a cheeky smile. "Just to make sure you actually stay pregnant."

For a moment she blinked at him in confusion and opened her mouth to correct that silly notion. But then she caught on to what he was really saying and laughed, her eyes sparkling with mirth and happiness.

"Charles Appletree, you are a smart, smart man." She stated. "We better do exactly that."

"I have my moments." He agreed and then gasped, as she rolled on top of him and sat up to straddle him.

She rubbed herself against him and her heat and scent were really all he thought he would ever need to get hard again. She had done a wonderful job at conditioning his cock to obey her and he didn't mind one bit. Then she took a firm hold of his cock and slowly guided him inside her. It felt perfect, tight and hot and wet. His hands came up all by themselves to rest on her hips. She looked down at him through the curtain of her hair, his mouth slightly opened and still grinning happily.

The sight made his heart clench painfully. He would never allow anyone else to touch her. The thought that Mouse or Raphael would have her like this made him want to strangle both of them. No matter what the cost, no other man would fuck her for this stupid breeding experiment. 

"Don't think dark thoughts!" she demanded breathlessly, "Be with me!"

She ground against him and the images in his mind shattered as physical pleasure overwhelmed him. He wanted to answer something witty, but then abandoned the idea to pull her down to kiss her hungrily. She was right - the world could wait.


	24. Dale's quarters

Alexander wasn't surprised about the fact that Dale's quarters were as crammed full with clutter as Claudia's lab. And like in Claudia's lab, he couldn't make sense of most of the stuff. What surprised him was that they weren't any larger than his or Claudia's cells. After all, Dale was a Doctor and therefore the second highest rank in the Conclave hierarchy. He had expected that would afford him some sort of luxury in living space. Probably he just had a bigger lab than Claudia.

"Come in, come in." Dale waved them inside amiably.

Claudia hadn't explained why they were visiting Dale in his private space, but Alexander's guess was that maybe he would finally hear the tale of how Dale had stolen Prometheus from the Legion. He had reminded Dale of his promise to tell him a few days ago and the young scientist had been quite chagrined that he had forgotten.

With some effort Dale somehow found enough room to move various stuff from his bed, so they had a place to sit down. He was bouncing with nervous energy even more than usually. Alexander noticed that Claudia was watching him with a puzzled frown.

"Okay." Dale said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, visibly forcing himself to stay still. "I've asked you to come hear because we must talk unobserved." He said.

As far as Alexander knew there was no inch of the Hangar that wasn't under constant surveillance. His confusion must have shown on his face as Dale quickly explained: "I've tapped into the surveillance of my quarters. They only see and hear what I want them to."

That of course begged the even more interesting question why Dale, who was a respected member of the Conclave scientist community, felt a need for such secrecy. But Alexander had a feeling he would learn that all too soon.

"I need your help in getting something to Harry." Dale continued, addressing both of them.

Claudia blinked with the same surprise Alexander felt. "What? How? Why?" she voiced her questions in no particular order.

"In order?" Dale asked. "Remember I did some research on encryption on our long range communication channels in case the Gaians or the Legion ever got their hands on our equipment?"

Claudia nodded while Alexander got the feeling they would rapidly lose him with their usual technical gibberish. "Yeah, you shelved it 'cause you couldn't figure out how to get the pheteo-matrix to conform to our linguistic source-code." Claudia said, obviously hell-bend on proving him correct.

"Yeah, that's what I told the board." Dale nodded. "Only I didn't shelf it. After Harry told me he was planning to run away with Charlie, we decided I should continue work on it in secret so we would eventually be able to use it to communicate across borders. I was still working on a prototype and it didn't look like I would have a reliable model any time soon, so Harry decided not to wait any longer and go. But I've found a handy little shortcut since and now I have a reliable, sufficiently small encrypted transmitter. Now I just need to get it to Harry. We've agreed on a spot where we can leave stuff for each other, so I have to get there and drop off the package so Archangel can pick it up. The problem is that Doctor Lunay had issued a sort of curfew - no mecha is allowed to go out alone. Either she thinks we are all going to run away or she is just paranoid that we will run into trouble. Anyway, I need another mecha to accompany me. Obviously I can't ask Doctor Foster and Professor Miller… well… you know. So…" He finally drew breath to gesture at both Claudia and Alexander. "Are you going to help me?"

Claudia looked about as stunned at this barrage of revelations as Alexander felt. "But… Harry ran away… he's a traitor… he's with the Gaians now…" Claudia voiced what Alexander thought was pretty obvious. He wasn't surprised by Dale's answer either. In fact he understood all to well since he faced the same dilemma with Claudia and Dale technically being his enemies.

"Doesn't make Harry any less of my friend." Dale stated calmly.

"What if he gives our secrets to the Gaians? What if he just wants that communication device so he can give it to them?" Claudia asked, gesturing widely and uncoordinatedly.

"Don't be silly." Dale admonished, still just as calmly. "He's not going to help them any more than he absolutely has to. He just left because how Charlie was treated here." He turned to Alexander. "I'm sure you can relate to that?"

Claudia turned to him as well, suddenly looking much less appalled at Dale's plans. "Oh god, I'm so sorry." She whispered and Alexander could clearly read on her face that she was thinking of Professor Scorten and his infernal experiments.

Alexander quickly put a comforting hand on her arm. "Hey, it's okay. It's not your fault."

That didn't reassure her as much as he had hoped it would. "Am I treating you badly?" she asked, apparently truly wondering. "Do you want to run away too?"

The first question he could have truthfully answered with no. The second no would have been outright lying. Which of course he should have done. Which would have been pointless since neither Claudia nor Dale would have believed him.

"Of course he does." Dale came to his rescue. "He's a freaking Legion soldier. He may be the nicest, most friendly Legion soldier ever, but it's still his duty to get back to his own people."

That sure was a nice way of summing it up. Much better than anything Alexander himself could have phrased.

"But… I thought we were friends…" Claudia muttered unhappily, looking at Alexander like a hurt kitten.

Dale sighed. "That is exactly what I'm trying to tell you. We can be on opposite sides of this war and still be friends." He slowly rubbed his face. "It's not our war anyway." He added so quietly Alexander nearly missed it.

Claudia had obviously caught it as well as she looked up at Dale with a quizzical expression, but this time she didn't voice her questions aloud. Instead she turned thoughtful. "I need to think about this." She said.

"Yeah, you should." Dale agreed. "About all of it. But I need your decision now. Harry and I have a set date once a month when we check whether there is something in the dead drop. It's coming up in two days so I need to head out tomorrow."

Once more Claudia managed to do the thing that made Alexander like her even more than he already did anyway. "What do you think?" she asked him.

With Dale's hopeful eyes now turning to him there really was only one possible answer. "Not like I give a crap about either Conclave or Gaians." He said with a grin and a shrug. "I do care about Dale so let's do it."

-

It was the first time Alexander was venturing from the Hangar with Snare and also the first time that he was running with the mecha for an extended amount of time. It was just as exhilarating as everything else when piloting the mecha was concerned. The speed, the feeling of his brutally heavy feet impacting the ground, the fact that he could keep up the same speed and not tire at all - every bit was adding to the feeling of glorious power that he associated with Snare.

He and Prometheus were travelling at a steady speed. Not a sprint but what counted as a leisurely run for the mechas. Of course their long strides meant that they ate up the distance at an amazing rate.

They hadn't really talked much since setting out. The official reason for their excursion was that Claudia was running a long term test on how Alexander reacted to a rather monotone exertion of Snare and that Prometheus was coming along to keep an eye on him as well as provide back up should they run into trouble. In reality they were on their way to the dead drop Dale and Harry had agreed on.

After they had left Dale's quarters, Claudia had been deep in thought. That had suited Alexander just fine. He felt no desire to discuss what Dale had said. He didn't even want to think about it. He was a soldier. He followed orders. Thinking was dangerously close to questioning orders.

But now that he was all alone with his thoughts, relaxed and with nothing to do but run, Dale's words crept back into the front of his mind. It's not our war, he had said. Before his capture he would have violently disagreed. It was every citizen's duty to help the Legion win. Theirs was the only right way of living - the only possible way of living, even. The only way humanity might find back to their former glory. 

Now that he had witnessed how the Conclave lived - the bright and the ugly sides both, he couldn't help but wonder if the same was true for the Legion. He didn't have to think hard to come up with equally ugly aspects of life in the Legion. Like slavery. Maybe grunts in the Conclave did the same work slaves did - but they did have rights. And while they were treated with condescension by the high ranking scientists mostly, they still were much better of than any slave who could be killed on the whim of their owners.

Probably the Gaians were just as bad in some way. So what gave any of them the right to claim that their way was the only correct one? In fact, why couldn't they co-exist? It wasn't exactly like the earth was terribly crowded anymore.

Did it really matter for which side he fought? Sure, he would be treated like a hero, if he managed to escape to the Legion with Snare. But was that worth being forced to fight Dale or Jess in battle? It was the same position Archangel's pilot found himself in now and Alexander wondered how he was dealing with it. Maybe Dale would borrow that com device to him and he could ask that question.

"What was that?!" Claudia's voice suddenly broke into his pondering.

"What was what?" Alexander asked. He hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

"I got a weird reading there to the west of you. Almost like…" Claudia answered.

Immediately Snare slowed down and focused his long range scanners west. She was right, there was a bright flare of something.

"It's a vortex flotsam impact." Dale's voice joined in. "A small one, though. Barely scratching grade 1." Prometheus stopped next to Snare.

Claudia remained silent for a moment, but Alexander could hear her typing furiously. "I'm getting a khartozine reading…" she then said, a weird, pleading tone in her voice.

Dale groaned. "Seriously? Now?"

"What the fuck is a karsomething?" Alexander asked.

"It's the alien stuff Claudia originally derived her serum formula from." Dale explained, before Claudia could launch into a seriously confusing explanation of her own. Alexander guessed that Dale was referring to her thesis.

"Can you please go pick it up...? Pretty please with a sugar cube on top…?" Claudia begged.

Alexander felt excited at the prospect himself. He had never before seen a vortex flotsam impact site. "Can we?" he asked as well.

"Oh, all right." Dale chuckled. "I guess we can. Not like anyone else will bother with such a minor impact."


	25. VFI Site 1.LGR.927, Tiberius

Just a training mission. Nothing dangerous. Really, nothing can go wrong.

Tiberius' bad feeling had started precisely at this description for what he and Toni were supposed to do. At first glance it did sound harmless - investigate a very minor vortex flotsam impact. It probably would have been harmless if Commander Darius hadn't jinxed it with saying it out loud.

Desperately, Tiberius dodged another swing of those infernal, glowing plasma fists and stumbled further backwards. He had lost Hector's sword in the first seconds of the fight. Merou would probably have laughed his head off if he was here to watch how his friend made a complete fool of himself. Then again - if Merou had been here he would have been able to defend Tiberius, who still had only very rudimentary combat training.

Right now, it didn't look like Tiberius would make it out of his first mission and combat situation alive. He wondered what would happen to Toni if he got killed. Controls for Toni's slave collar had been transferred to Hector while they were out of range of the control devices at the Hall of Heroes. Maybe it would self destruct if Hector was damaged to badly. Maybe they would both die - wouldn't that be a hoot.

Only it wasn't. Tiberius was well aware that the sarcastic commentary running in his mind was the only thing that kept him from completely panicking.

The Conclave mecha didn't show any sign of letting up on his attack. Only it wasn't really a Conclave mecha, of course. It was the missing Theseus, which obviously had been stolen by the Conclave at some point. Just another fact that no one had bothered to mention. It was just as well armoured as the other Legion mechas and now augmented with all sorts of Conclave gadgets. Like the super-heated fists once more swinging for Hector. 

Once more Tiberius backed up, only this time he suddenly ran out of ground to stand on. He hadn't paid enough attention to where he was and now he tumbled backwards into the crater left from the flotsam impact. Crashing to the ground was just as painful when jacked into a giant metal monster as when it was his own body, Tiberius had learned that much already when Lucius had rammed him. It hurt just as much this time.

He frantically tried to find out where the hostile mecha was, pushing himself up again, just to be flung back straight away as the Conclave mecha ran into him at full tilt. They landed on the ground again in a tangled heap and all Tiberius could do was to desperately try to keep the plasma fists from tearing into him by grabbing on to the wrists of the other mecha.

They were rolling like boys would in a harmless school yard brawl - only they were tons of steel and there was nothing harmless about their struggle. Tiberius was slowly losing his grip. And that meant dying.

Suddenly all his scanners were screeching at him, trying to warn about something underneath him. And then the world turned bright blue, as some sort of flash went off and everything turned inside out. 

For a panicked moment Tiberius had no idea what had happened. Only slowly did he come back to his senses enough to realize that he wasn't jacked into Hector anymore. In fact, he was on his hands and knees in front of the pilot seat, fighting hard to keep enough balance not to fall over completely which was made harder by the fact that the floor was at an angle. He blinked his eyes furiously, trying to clear his head from a crippling sense of vertigo. 

The interior of the cockpit was almost dark. The only light came from the exit hatch, which had opened partway. Probably an automatic precaution so the pilot wouldn't get trapped in an inert mecha. 

Using the pilot seat as support Tiberius pulled himself to his feet. His ears were ringing with a painfully crackling sound and he wondered if this time he had fried his interface equipment and part of his brain with it. The crushing headache he had suffered after Lucius had rammed him was missing though. Actually, he was feeling comparatively well. 

He slowly moved towards the exit hatch and when the crackling got louder, he realized that it wasn't in his head but coming from outside. For a panicked moment, he thought it were those murderous plasma fists, burning their way towards him. But there was no heat and the light coming in through the hatch wasn't red but bright blue - just like the flash he had seen before Hector shut down.

At the hatch, he stopped, considering his options. There was a good chance the Conclave mecha had shut down just like Hector. After all, they were basically the same model. Unless of course the shut down had been caused by some nifty extra the Conclave had developed. Tiberius had never heard of them using anything like it, though. If the Conclave mecha was still active, it would be suicide to leave Hector. On the other hand he couldn't just sit in the cockpit indefinitely. And it really wouldn't be terribly hard for the hostile mecha to tear the hatch fully open and squish Tiberius anyway.

Taking a deep breath, he forced the heavy hatch to open further. The bright blue light intensified, as did the crackling sound. Hector was in a mostly sitting position, tilting to the left. The Conclave mecha was crouched over him and Hector still held its wrists, but the plasma fists were only glowing dully with residual heat. Apart from that, it looked as dead as Hector.

The really interesting sight was the stream of crackling, blue energy, shooting up from the ground between Hector's legs. It rose above them and then spread to a dome of blue light about as wide as the crater. Tiberius couldn't make out anything outside the dome so he had no idea how Toni was faring. It definitely didn't look like this had been some clever Conclave plot, but some part of the vortex flotsam doing entirely unexpected things. It happened rarely, but it wasn't unheard of. After all, alien tech, crash landed on earth, was the source of the whole mecha program. 

It was probably supremely stupid, but Tiberius caught himself wondering how the Conclave pilot was doing. Maybe he or she had gotten hurt by the mecha's shut down. Even though the pilot had tried to kill him only moments ago, Tiberius climbed down Hector and then up the other mecha. He'd probably get shot for his troubles, but he still felt like he should at least check.

The cockpit hatch was pretty much the same as Hector's and just like Hector's, it stood slightly open. Before he could change his mind about it and run as far as he could - which probably was the edge of the blue dome - Tiberius knocked on the hatch.

"Hello? Are you okay in there?" he asked loud enough to be heard over the crackling of the energy field.

He was answered with silence. With all the background noise, Tiberius couldn't make out if anyone was breathing inside the mecha. His obvious duty was to get in there, make sure the pilot was dead and stayed dead - and then to gloriously re-acquire stolen Theseus. Groaning silently, Tiberius shoved open the mecha's hatch, fully aware that he would do no such thing if he found the hostile pilot hurt and in need of assistance.

The inside of the cockpit revealed that this definitely wasn't a Legion mecha anymore. Hector had only a minimum of controls besides the pilot chair. This mecha was crammed full with extra screens, control panels, wiring and plain stuff. Since the mecha was leaning forward, the floor was sharply tilting away from the hatch as well. In the glaring blue light Tiberius could see that the pilot seat was empty, but in the clutter he couldn't make out the pilot himself.

"Hello?" he asked again.

"Don't hurt me!" a desperate voice answered from somewhere behind the pilot chair. "I'm harmless! Completely harmless, I swear!"

Tiberius almost laughed. That someone actually considered him a threat certainly was refreshing. He didn't enter the cockpit but instead balanced on the edge of the hatch. "I just wanted to check whether you are alright." He tried to reassure the Conclave pilot.

A head of tussled hair appeared from behind the pilot seat, where the other pilot had hidden. The face going with it was much younger than Tiberius had expected. In fact, the Conclave pilot seemed to be about his own age.

"Uh… hi." He said, unsure how to proceed.

The other pilot blinked at him in obvious surprise. "Oh… you are… uh…" he said, no more eloquent than Tiberius himself.

"I'm what?" Tiberius asked. 

Now that he wasn't going to immediately get killed he was starting to feel intensely curious. About the other pilot, about the weird additions to Theseus, about the alien tech that had shot both of them down.

"Younger than I expected. And smaller." The other pilot grinned sheepishly and fully emerged from his hiding place. "And much less murderous."

"Well, you are younger than I thought you would be, too." Tiberius answered with the beginning of a smile. "And just for the record: you tried to kill me."

The Conclave pilot scratched his hair. "Yeah, sorry about that… was… kind of reflex, you know? Being mortal enemies and all…"

Tiberius nodded. "Apology accepted. So…" he spread his hands in a questioning gesture. "Truce until we figure out what the hell just happened?"

His counterpart eyed him with as much curiosity as Tiberius felt himself. "Sure." He immediately agreed and Tiberius got the impression that he wasn't as murderous as their fight had led him to believe. His next words enforced that idea. "I'm Dale." He introduced himself and joined Tiberius at the hatch, peering outside. Tiberius noted with interest, that Dale wasn't wearing a shirt and that a row of what looked like extra interfacing sockets ran along his spine.

Obviously there was no point in pretending they were civilized beings since they were both expected to go on killing each other soon. There really was no reason why they should exchange names or pleasantries.

"Tiberius." He introduced himself. "What do you need so many sockets for?" He fully expected the Conclave pilot to clamp up and keep his secrets, but he just had to ask anyway.

"They link into my nervous system giving me faster access to motor control of my mecha." Dale explained happily. "The head sockets are only for higher functions."

That made sense and sounded quite practical. "So you split the input to different channels. Like have a keyboard and a mouse." Tiberius commented. "Nice."

Dale blinked at him in complete consternation and for a moment Tiberius wondered if he had just said something incredibly stupid.

"Hey, you're smart!" Dale then stated, sounded delighted. "Are you sure you're a Legion soldier?"

A proper Legion soldier would probably have been insulted by that question and reacted with appropriate levels of violence. Tiberius laughed. "Not really, no. Working on it with little success. Disappointed?"

"Not at all." Dale smiled. "I'd ask whether you want to switch sides, but I'm not exactly a model specimen of my people either, so I guess you'll be happier where you are."

For a moment, Tiberius allowed himself the luxury of doubting that. Wouldn't it be nice if he just needed to pack up Merou and join the Conclave where everyone was friendly, smart and funny like Dale? Just as nice and unrealistic as hoping that he would wake up and realize that he had just dreamed the whole damn pilot thing.

"So, any idea what that thing is?" Tiberius asked instead and nodded towards the point where the bright blue energy beam emerged.

"None." Dale answered cheerfully and started climbing down his mecha. "Let's take a closer look and poke it."

His words made Tiberius wonder if maybe they had accidentally been separated at birth since that would have been his suggestion too. He followed closely behind.


	26. VFI Site 1.LGR.927, Alexander

Snare slowly circled the blue energy dome at a respectful distance. It hadn't shown any kind of activity since it had gone up nearly an hour ago, but that didn't mean it couldn't suddenly lash out and do something entirely deadly to him, as Claudia had explained, sounding slightly panicked. She had also helpfully mentioned that she had never seen anything like it before, that it was utterly fascinating and that she very much hoped Dale would bring it home - provided he survived being inside the thing and found a way to get out again. Which Claudia apparently believed he would do easily.

Alexander wasn't so sure, considering he was locked in there with a Legion pilot who could be counted upon to do his best to kill Dale. He hadn't pointed that bit out to Claudia. 

Right now he was still patiently waiting for something to happen, since he had no idea what was going on inside the dome. The energy screen was crackling and opaque, concealing the interior.

Same as the other Legion pilot, who was doing the same slow circuits around the dome, only on the opposite side of Snare.

When the energy beam had first shot up, they had quickly separated and scrambled back to get an idea of what was going on. Alexander hadn't been eager to take up battle again. 

The Legion mecha was Hercules, armed with a giant club that had already put a few dents in Snare's armour, while Snare had only managed a few scratches with his claws. Standard battle tactics would have been to immobilize the heavier mecha with Snare's chains and then leave it to Arson, Prometheus or Black Reaper to cut through him. But they weren't available and Claudia was reluctant to send in any reinforcements as that would ruin their original mission of dropping of Dale's communication device at the agreed upon spot.

Alexander had been worried that the Legion pilot would call in additional Legion mecha, but Claudia had quickly reassured him that the Legion didn't have long range communication like the Conclave and that Hercules would have to run back to Legion territory to get help. Which he obviously didn't plan on doing since he was still here, guarding the energy dome just like Snare did, waiting for something to happen or to emerge.

Why he didn't engage Snare again, Alexander had no idea. It wouldn't have been a pretty fight, but Alexander was pretty sure Hercules could have won it. He was grateful for the lack of combat. 

The two Legion mechas had already been at the impact site when they arrived, their presence masked by the weird radiation emitted from the crashed alien tech. Dale hadn't hesitated in attacking them so Alexander had followed suit - even though he really had no desire to hurt a fellow Legion soldier.

"How long can we stay out before someone starts to miss us?" he asked Claudia.

"I've already informed Doctor Lunay that you've come across a small impact site and that you are securing and salvaging it." Claudia replied immediately.

Alexander snorted. "Does this look secured to you?"

"I'm sure it will be." She didn't sound quite as convinced as she had an hour ago, Alexander noted.

"Seriously, how long am I supposed to wait here?" he asked calmly. "After all this thing could stay up forever."

For a moment Claudia didn't answer. Then she said in a rather small voice: "Can we not talk about that? Not yet, at least?"

She was worried about Dale, Alexander realized. After all, he was her hero and not knowing whether he even was alive had to frighten her, even if she was trying hard not to show it.

"I'm sure he's fine." He tried to comfort her.

"Of course he is!" she grumbled. "I'm sure it's utterly fascinating in there. And he has just forgotten the time like he always does."

Alexander sighed. "Yeah." He agreed half-heartedly and continued on his course.

It took another twenty minutes until finally something happened and again it was Claudia who noticed first, being much more skilled at reading the scanners than Alexander was. She barely got to start to say: "There is something…" Then the energy dome suddenly collapsed.

Snare turned to get a picture of what the situation was inside the crater. His scanners picked up two human figures quickly scrambling up their respective mechas to reach the pilot cockpits. On the other side of the crater Hercules was hefting his club. He looked like he was carefully scanning as well before deciding what to do.

The smart thing would have been to attack as quickly as possible and try to kill the pilot of the Legion mecha before he could reach the safety of his cockpit. Alexander did move, but only to intercept Hercules, should he try to attack Dale. He had no interest in killing Legion pilots.

"Is he all right?" Claudia babbled in his ear. "Oh, he is all right, his vital signs look totally okay." She answered her own question moments later.

Both Prometheus and the Legion mecha - Hector, if Alexander wasn't mistaken - had looked inactive, but as soon as both pilots were in their cockpits they apparently both restarted them.

"Don't attack!" Dale's voice immediately came over the com.

Alexander blinked in surprise, but he complied gladly. He watched as Hercules lowered his club as well. Apparently he had received the same order from Hector's pilot.

"Dale? What the fuck happened?" Claudia asked, before Alexander could.

Prometheus moved back from Hector and the Legion mecha got to his feet and then moved back to join Hercules at the edge of the crater. Prometheus picked up something from the ground and then climbed the other side of the crater to get to Snare.

"Some sort of alien device that shuts down all electric activity inside a certain radius." Dale replied. "I've disabled it and I'm bringing it home. Would be really nice if we could figure out how it works."

"Okay." Alexander said, still watching the two Legion mechas who looked like they were conferring as well. "And what about them?" He pointed at the not so hostile mechas.

"We've come to an agreement." Dale said as if that was the most natural thing in the world. Quite the change from his earlier vehement attacks. "We get the device, they get everything else."

"What? No!" Claudia exclaimed. "You can't let them have my khartozine!"

Dale sighed. "Yes, I can. The device is worth way more and we can't let the Legion have it. It's paramount we bring it home safely." He turned away from the crater and started moving away.

Alexander followed, ignoring Claudia's disappointed complaints. His rear scanners showed him that the two Legion mechas were moving down into the crater and started picking up bits and pieces. At least Hector did. Hercules was keeping his attention on the departing Conclave mechas. 

It was quite telling that Hector's pilot and Dale were so utterly certain that neither of them would go back on the deal they had made. Only Alexander wasn't sure what exactly it was telling him.

"What about the rest of our mission?" Alexander asked when Claudia finally lapsed into disgruntled silence. It didn't escape his notice that they were heading back towards the Hangar.

An odd crackle came over the com and then Dale's voice, slightly muted. "Channel is secure for about a minutes. I gave the com unit to the Legion pilot. He's… he was really helpful… nice…"

Alexander had guessed that Dale and the Legion pilot must have worked together since they had both been outside their mechas. That Dale would give him the com unit made much less sense. After all, it held the secret of long range communication that the Conclave so jealously guarded.

"Not that I'll complain about the Legion getting an edge," he said carefully, "but do you really think that was smart?"

"I trust him." Dale answered with both the most stupid and the most compelling argument he could have chosen.

Alexander took a while to mull that over and by then the crackle had disappeared from their com and Claudia asked: "Are you okay? I lost connection to you for a moment there."

"Yeah, we are good." Dale replied. "On our way back now."

It was a long march and gave Alexander way too much time to wonder if Dale actually had some secret, brilliant plan he was only sharing piece meal - or whether he was just acting on impulse and had no idea what he was doing. Neither was very reassuring.


	27. The Den, Harry's workshop

"There was nothing there, but I left the package where you told me to." Charlie told the opened armour plate.

Somewhere inside Archangel, Harry harrumphed unhappily. He was rewiring something, but Charlie guessed that was not the reason why he sounded so annoyed.

"Care to finally tell me what is going on?" Charlie growled, no less annoyed. "I mean, I'm used to you not telling me anything, after all I'm just the dumb pilot and you are the brilliant scientist, but I'd really like to know why I am risking my hide by arranging contact between you and Dale. Or was that your plan all along? Win the Gaian's trust and then betray them, providing intel for the Conclave?"

The moment the words were out of his mouth Charlie felt stupid for saying them. He was just feeling on edge too much lately since he still had no idea how to protect Olivia. That they were growing closer and closer didn't help at all.

"I'm sorry, that was unfair." He quickly apologized before Harry could tell him what an ungrateful bastard he was.

"Actually, you're right." Harry's voice came from inside Archangel. "I have become so used to not telling you anything that it didn't even cross my mind I should. I should be apologizing." 

That made Charlie laugh. Having a friend like Harry was priceless. "Maybe we should skip the apologizing altogether and you just fill me in?" he suggested.

"Sadly, there isn't a whole lot to say. Yet." Harry answered. "When I decided to leave, I talked to Dale about it. Ran my plan by him to get a second opinion, you know?"

It's shouldn't have surprised Charlie. Harry and Dale had always been thick as thieves, cooking up new gadgets and ideas. Dale was Harry's other best friend. Of course Harry would trust him. Charlie would have called that risky at best and lethal at worst, but judging by their successful escape and Dale's friendly words on the battlefield Harry had - as usual - been right.

"We agreed that we would want to stay in contact, no matter what side we are officially fighting for." Harry continued. "And judging from your lack of satisfaction with our current employers, it seems to me that was a wise precaution. The package you dropped off for him contains news of developments over here. Dale is working on a secure com device. I was hoping he might be finished by now and that he would have had a chance to drop it off for us. Like you suggested, I agree that it would be very useful to talk to him and maybe come up with a shared strategy on how to deal with our problem here. Seems for now we will have to make do on our own."

"So there is no grand scheme?" Charlie asked, feeling disappointed.

Harry chuckled. "I'm afraid, not." He said. "Yet." He then added.

Charlie impatiently rubbed his hands on his thighs. There really was no immediate reason to feel so threatened, but he wanted to know Olivia safe. 

"Charlie? Are you in here?" A male voice called from the entrance of the workshop.

Looking down from his perch on the scaffolding, Charlie spotted Raphael, looking around the clutter workspace somewhat confused.

"Up here." Charlie called down to him.

"Oh, hey." Raphael craned his neck to look up to him. "Do you have a moment? There is something I want to talk to you about."

"Sure." Charlie quickly climbed down the scaffolding. Raphael always looked rather serious, but right now he was frowning like something bad had happened. "Everything okay?" Charlie asked, stopping himself from adding 'with Olivia'.

Raphael nodded. "Yeah. It's just…" He ran his fingers through his hair. "We've talked, Mouse and I. About you and Olivia and… well… what my dear relatives are doing to you." He gestured with his hand a little helplessly.

After Olivia had told him about the bad blood between Raphael and his family, Charlie hadn't bothered to talk to him about the breeding plans of the Gaian leadership. Since up to now, Raphael hadn't mentioned them either, so he had assumed that the other pilots hadn't even been informed yet. Apparently, they had heard one way or another.

"Just for the record," Raphael said, "I think it's disgusting and wrong. They have no right to force Olivia into this." He sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised either. Diana loves playing god. She's just taking it to the next level."

It was the first time Raphael mentioned his sister like that and the clear hatred in his voice surprised Charlie. Some part of him had still tried to believe in the shining example that the Sky clan presented to the outside. 

"What I'm trying to say is, we won't take part in this. Not willingly, anyway." Raphael continued. "I have no doubt they won't hesitate to sedate all of us and just do whatever they want, but…" he shrugged, "at least we stick together, right?"

His words made Charlie smile. Maybe it was just a gesture, but it meant a lot to him. "Thank you." He said. "Have you talked to Olivia?"

Again Raphael scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "No. I was hoping you would. I really don't know how to talk to her about this mess." He sighed. "It's my family doing it after all. I really feel bad enough about it."

Charlie shook his head. "Not your fault. I know that and so does Olivia."

Raphael nodded, but he looked no less unhappy. "How was your reconnaissance mission?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Boring." Charlie answered. 

Reconnaissance had been the official reason for his trip to the dead drop. Luckily, Archangel's flying capabilities meant that he went on such missions alone since no one could keep up with him anyway. Charlie was pretty sure that they wouldn't have allowed him out alone if they didn't have Harry back at the base. Charlie would never leave without him and they knew it.

"Didn't see anything unusual." He added. "I wonder what's up with the Legion. Haven't seen any of their mechas in over a month now."

They had gone out to pick up more vortex flotsam which had crashed close to the Gaian borders a few days ago and neither the Legion nor the Conclave had made an appearance. It had only been a minor impact, though.

"Can't say that I miss them." Raphael said. "When they show up in force, they usually kick our ass. But that reminds me, I have also talked to Mouse and Lena again about doing some joined training. Sold it to them as a fun exercise. I think we really need to brush up on our team work."

"What about Olivia?" Charlie asked immediately. "I'm pretty sure she won't be happy if you exclude her."

"That is actually a great idea." Raphael said. "Natalie may have banned her from missions, but I really don't see why she shouldn't at least be allowed to train with us. We'll probably have to promise to treat her extra gentle."

Charlie chuckled darkly. "She'll shred us if we do."

"Yeah. It will be good for her." Raphael agreed. "I'll talk to my bitch of a niece and see that she gets permission."

"Thank you." Charlie said again. "For everything."

Raphael nodded uncomfortably. "Sure, man. I wish there was more I could do." He looked like he was trying to find something else to say, but in the end he just nodded again and turned to go.

Charlie watched as he left the workshop. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Harry's voice suddenly sounded from above, having completely forgotten that the scientist was there as well. 

"Good to know he is on our side. Now we just have to figure out what exactly our side is."

With a small groan Charlie glared up at his friend who was peeking out of Archangel like a worm out of an apple. "You do the thinking, I do the fighting - that's the deal."

"Actually I may have an idea." Harry replied with a smirk. "More thinking is required, but I can assure you, you won't like it." Then he withdrew inside the mecha again.


	28. Hall of Heroes, Tiberius' quarters

"Damn, you really have trained this little savage well." Janus commented, as he accepted the glass with his drink from Merou. 

He also looked like he was about to tousle the red-head affectionately. Luckily, he was too slow and Merou had already moved on to deliver a second drink to Cassius, since Merou would probably have ripped his hand off had he succeeded. There was only so much pretending to be a good little slave Tiberius could expect from his friend and letting himself be petted like a cute lapdog certainly was stretching that limit too far. The way Janus leered at Merou was enough to make Tiberius' hackles rise.

"Can we get back to the subject?" Cassius sneered, clearly almost as annoyed at his colleague's distraction as Tiberius. "We've already looked at your preliminary report and interviewed Toni. There are just a few details we would like to verify with you."

"Of course." Tiberius agreed pleasantly, though inside he was trembling.

He and Toni had discussed what they were going to say about their encounter with the Conclave mechas. Including the fact that they would keep quiet about the fact that they had come to an arrangement and let the two other mechas walk away without another fight. Tiberius could only hope that Toni had stuck to the story they had agreed upon. Considering how much he hated the two intelligence officers, he really had no reason to tell them the truth, but Tiberius couldn't be sure.

"So…" Cassius mused and checked the datapad he was holding. "Toni says he had never before seen the mecha he battled. He said that mecha was using a hook and chain to try and incapacitate him and that he seemed highly trained. What can you tell me about that mecha?"

Tiberius blinked at him in surprise. He had expected questions about the energy dome that had cut him off from contact with Toni for nearly an hour. Or about how they had managed to drive off the two Conclave mechas.

"Uh… I'm afraid not too much." He answered truthfully. "As you said yourself, Toni fought him and I was quite busy with fending off Theseus."

"Prometheus." Janus corrected him.

"They call him Prometheus." Cassius provided helpfully.

Tiberius used the opportunity for a question of his own. "Why didn't anybody tell me the freaking Conclave has stolen one of your mechas?" He asked incredulously. "How does one even steal a mecha?!"

"Ah…" Janus started, but as usual was interrupted by Cassius.

"Not our predecessors' finest hour, I must say." He said smugly. "Apparently, they managed to infiltrate the base and basically just walked out with someone piloting him, pretending they were going on a perfectly regular patrol."

So that was how these two weasels had gotten their jobs. Tiberius could well imagine what had happened to the people in charge of security before them. He also wondered if they were aware how much their security still sucked, judging from what Tiberius had seen of the Hall of Heroes.

"Now let's get back to that other Conclave mecha," Cassius continued, "are there any details you can remember?"

Tiberius made an honest attempt to remember anything useful, but he really hadn't paid attention to that other mecha. "I think he was taller than our mechas." He finally said. "Not as bulky. But that really is as much as I can say. Why are you so interested in it?"

"We believe it is Snare." Janus answered. "He hasn't been seen in several years. If he is back in active duty it means the Conclave have a new pilot. That is never good news."

Since he obviously expected some appropriate answer and Tiberius had no clue what to say he just nodded gravely.

"Anyway," Cassius said much more cheerfully and with a bright smile, "congratulations on your first victory over our enemies!" He toasted Tiberius with his drink, while Janus fumed about the fact that he hadn't first thought of doing the same thing.

"Thank you." Tiberius replied graciously. "It really was just a tiny skirmish."

And he would have gotten slaughtered, if it hadn't been for that weird alien device going off right in the perfect moment. He still had a lot to learn about piloting a mecha. At least he could be sure that Prometheus wouldn't try to kill him again. Neither Tiberius nor Dale had any idea how to pull that one of, but they definitely planned to keep each other alive. Tiberius smiled at the thought. Who'd have thought that he would find a likeminded friend in a Conclave mecha's pilot.

"You don't have to be so modest about it." Janus chimed in. "The citizens of the Legion need heroes. We plan to do a TV feature with you later this week, introducing you properly. Of course you'll have to talk about your heroic deeds then."

"We will obviously provide a script for that." Cassius added, as always making sure to top Janus.

Tiberius had smiles for both of them. "I will of course do whatever you deem appropriate. A script will be very helpful."

They looked extremely pleased.

"Well, that already concludes our questions." Cassius announced pleasantly and drained the last of his drink. "We'll get back to you when we have a date for filming that feature."

Tiberius could hardly believe that they really weren't going to ask him about the alien device or how exactly he had fought off the Conclave mechas. Apparently they just believed the story that Tiberius had been forced to destroy the device to get free of the energy field and that he had also managed to severely damage Prometheus.

"And, as always, don't hesitate to contact me, should you need anything at all." Janus for once took the opportunity to offer first, earning himself a venomous glare from Cassius.

Both got up and straightened their uniforms. Tiberius accompanied them to the door, thanking them again for their good work and then closing the door behind them. He leaned against the door with a relived sigh.

"Sooo…" Merou drawled from where he had taken refuge behind the bar. "Care to tell me what really happened?"

Tiberius looked over at his friend with exasperation. "Am I really that bad of a liar?" he asked.

He was answered with an insolent grin. "No. Actually you are frighteningly good. But there is no way you heroically beat up another mecha in combat. Let's be honest here, you suck as a mecha pilot."

Despite his pout, Tiberius didn't contradict Merou. After all, he was right. 

"And when you came home, you hid something between the books in the study." Merou continued smugly. "You must have brought it back from that mission."

"Nothing escapes you, does it?" Tiberius asked with a sigh. Of course he had been planning to tell Merou anyway so it didn't really matter.

"I was one of the best hunters in my tribe." Merou declared proudly. "Paying attention is kind of important for that."

Tiberius tiredly rubbed his face. "Yeah, I get it, you are better than me in every possible way." He snarked.

"Not at all." Merou replied cheerfully. "You definitely are a better liar, more patient and generally a nicer guy than I will ever be." He elegantly vaulted over the counter to sit on it. "So, what happened?" he asked again, refusing to get distracted.

Tiberius joined him at the bar and poured himself a strictly alcohol free drink. "The short version? I got trapped in a weird alien energy field together with a Conclave pilot, we worked together to disable the thing that created the field and since that took a while we discovered that we got along splendidly. As a parting gift he gave me a com device that will let me talk to him on a secure channel."

"Seriously?" Merou looked stunned.

"Yeah." Tiberius agreed. He still wasn't entirely sure what to make of the day's events. But that fell in line perfectly with the rest of his life lately.

"Uh…" Merou rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren’t the Conclave your mortal enemies or something?"

He was entirely right and Tiberius knew full well that he should have felt ashamed. His father would have expected him to be ashamed, Legion Command would have expected him to feel ashamed, hell, even Commander Darius - as nice a guy as he was - would have expected him to feel ashamed. Maybe even his mother would have. He didn't. At all. He'd never bought into the Legion supremacy propaganda and his stay at the Hall of Heroes had just shown him how very much they were not the best humanity had to offer.

"Do I look like I care?" He asked back.

Merou chuckled. "Not much, no." He stole a few gulps of Tiberius drink. "So, what's the plan?"

Tiberius drew a deep breath. "Honestly? I don't want to die. Not for the Legion and much less because Lucius feels I am standing in his spotlight." 

He had given plenty of thought to the matter and his encounter with Dale had just shown him even more that fighting for the Legion was stupid. The only reasons he had stayed were some vague sense of duty and a lack of options. Talking to Dale, he had come to the realisation that he didn't want to fight for anyone at all.

"I think we should find a way to get out of here." He said. "And even more importantly, we need to figure out where to go. I don't think we would be better off with the Conclave or the Gaians so we need a viable alternative."

Merou shrugged, unsurprised by Tiberius decision. "I was planning on going back to my tribe."

"They would try to hunt you down again." Tiberius pointed out.

"True." Merou agreed. "But if we both run there is not much they can do to us if we take our mechas with us. If Toni comes as well the Legion has no way of getting at us with only Lucius remaining."

Tiberius shook his head. "That would make us an easy target for the other two factions. There is no way we could hide three mechas and they would try very hard to get their hands on rogue pilots. And we'd have no way of maintaining the mechas out there in the wilderness." He sighed deeply. "And even more importantly - I'm not sure I can do that. Leave the Legion defenceless like that without any mechas."

Merou growled angrily. "So what then?"

"I don't know yet." Tiberius answered. 

He did have an idea, but it was too soon to tell Merou about it since he had no way of knowing how serious Dale had been when he talked about how fed up he was with the senseless fighting. He needed to talk to his new friend about that. And while he was doing that, he would also have a few questions on how exactly Dale had managed to steal Theseus and whether he had some advice on how best to disable Merou's slave collar.


	29. The Hangar

"Are you scared, my precious dear?"

Professor Scorten's voice was a soft sneer in Alexander's ear. The Professor was leaning over him, his breath warm against his skin, his eyes grotesquely distorted behind his thick glasses.

Alexander tried to squirm away, but there was nowhere for him to go. He was bound tight against the unyielding surface of the metal table.

"Heart rate elevated, perspiration elevated, breathing elevated…" Another voice droned from further away. 

"Well, look at that." The Professor grinned. "You really are scared. Which you should be, of course. This will hurt. A lot."

For a moment he disappeared from Alexander's field of vision, only to return holding some sort of tool with a faintly glowing tip. He activated some switch and the glow became a threatening glare, accompanied by an ear-splitting screech. The Professor lowered the tool against Alexander's temple and pain started to build up. At first it was just a low buzz, but it intensified with every laboured breath he took. 

He tried to scream, but the sound stuck in his throat. He fought against his bonds, but they held as firm as they always had.

Professor Scorten removed the device and smiled fatherly. "You didn't really think I would let you pilot my Snare, did you?" he asked. "That was just a test run, obviously. Now we will continue with the real work."

From further away Alexander heard Claudia, desperately calling his name, but he knew she was locked out of Scorten's lab. There was no way she could reach him, no way she could save him. Once more he was at the Professor's none existent mercy.

Again the Professor lowered his tool against Alexander's skin, this time running it down his throat in a cruel mockery of a lover's touch. The pain crept into his head, building up. And then suddenly it was everywhere, racing through his veins like wildfire, so brutal that he screamed at the top of his lunges, his whole body taunt, ripping up his bonds as he shot up from his bed, arms flailing, fighting off…

Immediately the pain disappeared and he blinked in confusion at his own room, at Claudia, who was kneeling on his narrow bed next to him, looking up from the device strapped to her wrist. She lunged at him, wrapping him in her arms tightly.

"It's okay. It was a nightmare. You were dreaming. You're safe." She told him, her own voice shaky.

Alexander tried to calm his unsteady breathing, shuddering in her arms. There was a time when he would have resented the need for comfort, when his pride would have demanded that he present a cool front. Now he found himself clinging to her like a little boy. He was drenched in cold sweat and it took a while before he stopped trembling.

The whole time Claudia held him and kept muttering reassurances. 

Finally Alexander felt grounded enough to gently push her away and use his blanket to wipe sweat and probably tears off his face. He still didn't dare close his eyes. The memory of Scorten in his dream was still too vivid.

"I was working on some research when I saw your vital signs spike." Claudia explained without him having to ask how she had known to find him. "At first I thought someone was attacking you, but then I saw on the security feed that you were in your bed. So I ran here. I tried to wake you, but you just wouldn't wake up."

So that really had been her calling his name in his dream. Only she had been the only thing real.

"I didn't know what to do." She continued, looking miserably. "So I used this to shock you out of it." She pointed to the controller on her wrist that activated the chip in his head. "I'm so sorry. I promised I would never…"

Now it was his turn to hug her. "Claude, thank you." He said. "Thank you for coming to wake me, thank you for being my friend, thank you for teaching me how to pilot Snare. Thank you for everything."

It was something he should have told her a long time ago, but he'd never quite managed to bring himself to admit it.

"Oh." She muttered and blushed furiously.

She was a brilliant scientist, unnaturally strong and very good at appearing professional when she wanted to, but at the end of the day she also was a teenage girl and such a display of honest emotion was a little too much for her. It made Alexander marvel at how well she coped with everything she had to deal with on a daily basis.

He watched at she furiously tugged on her blue hair, which looked even more dishevelled than usual.

"Do you have any idea what brought on this nightmare now?" She asked, clearly trying to get back on safer grounds in their conversation. "Did something happen?"

Alexander's first instinct was to say no and not talk about it at all, but then he remembered something. "I saw one of Professor Scorten's assistants in the mess today." He said. "She was just sitting there eating, I don't think she even looked at me. That probably brought it about."

Now Claudia frowned. "Really? That's odd. She had no reason to be there. Lab personal have their own mess on their floor."

Her words made icy tendrils of fear creep up Alexander's spine. It must have shown in his face, as Claudia immediately patted his hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'm sure it means nothing. She may have been visiting someone up her. I'll check into it." She smiled brightly. "At least now we know what triggered your dream. I was expecting you to break down much sooner."

"What?" Alexander glared at her.

"Well, when the Professor handed you over to me I obviously read up on trauma therapy and on how to deal with torture victims." Claudia explained matter-of-factly. "I was a little disappointed when nothing happened at all." She added with a tiny smirk.

For a moment Alexander wanted to throw her across the room or at least snarl at her. Or maybe curl up in a ball of misery. Once more his emotion must have been plainly written across his face, as Claudia immediately sobered up and hugged him.

"I'm sorry." She muttered. "So sorry. I shouldn't joke about this. I know better."

He wanted to push her away, but instead he found himself relaxing in her embrace. He had conditioned himself to trust her so thoroughly that now he took any comfort she offered. Even though he hated admitting any weakness, he also knew that she probably had a point.

"So what did your studies say?" He asked, relived that his voice didn't tremble like he expected it to. "What kind of therapy do they recommend?"

Claudia now spoke with the professional care again she always displayed when she was working as his operator. "There are different methods. They all agree that talking about it is important. About how you feel and felt."

Alexander had expected as much and everything in him balked at the idea. He quickly disentangled himself from her. "I don't think… I…" He muttered unhappily.

"They also agree that any attempt at therapy is pointless until the victim is ready to engage in it all of his own volition." Claudia added. "So…" She spread her open hands. "Whenever you want to talk, I'm here. Whenever you have nightmares, I'll wake you up. Simple as that."

Talking to her about his fears? He wasn't sure whether he would ever be able to do that. But he was grateful for the offer nonetheless. 

He forced himself to smile at her. "Why are you doing all this for me? I mean, that's way beyond what Scorten tasked you with." He asked, even though he thought he knew the answer.

Claudia scoffed at him. "You’re my responsibility. And my friend." She smiled back at him. "You'd do the same for me."

And she was right. Damn all his Legion loyalty to hell, she was right. He had no idea how to deal with that realization in the long run.

"So…" Claudia interrupted this unpleasant thought. "Since we are both awake now anyway, how about we do those interface optimization trial I had scheduled for tomorrow now? All my research indicates that trying to go right back to sleep after a nightmare like this isn't a good idea."

"Sounds good to me." Alexander immediately agreed. The idea of jacking into Snare and forgetting all about his weak, vulnerable body for a while sounded like the perfect escape.


	30. The Den

"Natalie, that's complete bullshit and you know it!" Raphael's voice was a low growl, which made it sound much more threatening than any shouting would have.

Charlie felt like shouting and ramming his fist down someone's throat, but there were two security guards loosely holding on to his arms already after he had done plenty of shouting at Commander Sky.

"You don't even know if she IS pregnant yet!" Raphael continued his verbal lashing of his niece.

She seemed as unperturbed as she had been by Charlie's shouting and Olivia's screaming. "She is too valuable to risk." She repeated what she had been saying all along. "She may still jack into Mantis for training purposes until she is three months pregnant. Then we will have to reduce even that to an absolute minimum."

A minimum that would keep her addiction to her mecha satisfied, Harry had told Charlie earlier. Natalie's cold calm made bile rise in Charlie's throat. Olivia had been removed to the infirmary after what Natalie called her 'temper tantrum'. To be sedated. Why they had allowed him to stay Charlie couldn't guess. Maybe they hoped he really would snap and have a reason to lock him up.

"It's just a fucking border patrol!" Raphael slammed both hands on the table separating him from Commander Sky. "What do you expect will happen? She was scheduled for this!"

"You scheduled her for this." Natalie replied with a malicious smile. "You set her up for disappointment."

Even without knowing any details Charlie would have sworn any oath that Natalie had somehow tricked Raphael into believing that she would be okay with Olivia going on patrol. In a way that could not be proven later, of course. Raphael's silent seething just confirmed that.

"So," Commander Sky smiled icily, taking Raphael's silence as an admission of defeat, "are we done here? Can we get back to business?" She turned to Charlie. "Do I have to have you sedated as well? Or will you take over Olivia's duties and go on that patrol?"

An unspoken threat was in her voice, the promise that something very unpleasant would happen if Charlie didn't obey. He knew perfectly well that the Commander had him in her hand as long as she had control over Olivia. It was hard to swallow, but this was even worse than his whole time at the Conclave had been. At least there all threats had been clear and out in the open. Here it was cruelty hidden behind words and smiles.

Charlie shrugged off the loose grip of the two security guards. "Yeah, I'm ready to go." He backed down without looking at Natalie. It was something he had learned from Harry. When you looked down your superior thought they had you cowed while in truth it was just a great way to hide your rage.

"Excellent. You have my permission to go as soon as you are ready." She smiled at both him and Raphael victoriously. "Dismissed."

They had barely left the corridor where Natalie's office was located when Raphael kicked the wall so hard Charlie thought he heard bones crunch. "Damn her!" Raphael hissed under his breath, leaning against the wall with both hands and his head down, breathing hard.

"Hey." Charlie put a calming hand on the older pilot's shoulder. "It's not your fault. I know that and Olivia knows it too."

"It IS my fault." Raphael looked like he was ready to ram his head against the wall as well so Charlie turned him around and firm held him by the shoulders.

"It's not. She's just winding you up." Charlie tried to reason with him. "Don't let her. Keep your cool." 

He watched as Raphael closed his eyes and slowly fought down his anger. He had a hard time imagining what it was like for Raphael to have his own family be such a nest of vipers. 

It made Charlie wonder how his own family was doing. His parents owned a lovely farm in the fertile plains of the south of Gaian territory. He hadn't seen them since the Conclave had taken him. 

He had been visiting a trade fair near the border when Conclave raiders had attacked, systematically picking up skilled craftsmen and strong workers. Only when they arrived in Conclave territory had they scanned everyone for pilot capabilities. Charlie had been too young still at the last scanning carried out by Gaian searchers. The Conclave was delighted at their unexpected prize.

Back then he had been a scared kid, barely sixteen years old. When they had paired him up with the nerdy young scientist who needed a pilot for his newly created mecha, he had been both scared of Harry and angry at him for ruining his life. They certainly had come a long way since then.

Charlie wondered if Commander Sky would give him permission to visit his parents and maybe even introduce Harry to them. Though he should probably be introducing Olivia since they would be having children. Then he dismissed the thought. He could already see the polite sneer on Natalie's face as she denied his request due to 'security concerns'.

He was pretty sure he hadn't growled aloud, but when Raphael chuckled he realized that something had to have slipped out after all.

"Come on, let's go." Raphael said, apparently more calmed by Charlie's own anger than by his words. "Maybe we'll get lucky and run into some Conclave or Legion forces we can use as a punching bag."

A few minutes later they were leaving the Den behind with Brute and Archangel. This time Archangel was travelling on foot and Charlie had Harry back in his ear. Harry hadn't been amused by the short notice patrol duty. He had been working on recalibrating a Behisomething in Archangel's control system. Their sudden departure had forced him to do a reboot and erase his progress. He was still complaining when they reached the western border fort, where they were starting their patrol.

It really was a routine mission. Basically all they had to do was scan and check for newly developing nests of dracklings. The creatures were one of the weird alien species who had arrived on earth after it had fallen into the vortex. No one knew when they had crash landed, but they had survived both the crash and the new environment and made themselves at home. They ate practically anything and dug out large underground nests where they multiplied at an alarming rate. They were quite dangerous for ordinary townsfolk or even military, but for a mecha they weren't more than bugs to be stomped into the ground.

The chance of catching any Legion or Conclave raiders on a regular patrol was very low so Charlie was quite surprised when Raphael interrupted Harry's grumbling. "Charlie, I'm receiving a distress signal from a foraging crew southwest of us. Apparently they've run into Legion raiders. Seems we are in luck after all." 

The no man's land wilderness between Gaian and Legion territory was a broad swath most of the way up from the sea to where both territories ended to the north, but here it was the narrowest. Foraging crews and raiders frequently ran into each other and such encounters never ended peacefully. Having two mechas suddenly show up was sure to tip the balance in Gaian favour.

"Let me guess, you do not want me to inform Commander Sky about your little extra excursion?" Harry asked caustically, when Brute and Archangel changed course and crossed the border.

Charlie hadn't told his friend about the latest confrontation between him and Natalie, but he wasn't surprised Harry already knew. It made him wonder how exactly Harry knew so much about everything that happened at the Den when he rarely left his workshop. He'd definitely have to ask him about that when they were unobserved.

Running at their top speed they quickly closed in on the spot where the foraging crew had holed up in some ruins. They had been forced to leave their trucks out in the open and members of the Legion raider squads were already busy taking control of the vehicles to drive off with them. Most of them were laying down suppression fire. They probably hoped to scare the foraging screw into giving up. It would be easy loot in goods and new slaves. No need to actually enter Gaian territory and raid one of the protected villages.

Two mechas bearing down on them changed the equation completely.

Where before the Legion raiders had worked as a disciplined team, they now panicked and scattered. There wasn't much a regular soldier could throw at a mecha that would even scratch it. One especially brave soul managed to fire a missile from a portable launcher at Brute, but Raphael caught it in one huge fist and threw it back.

That broke the last bit of resistance and the Legion troops fled in chaos.

Archangel and Brute used the opportunity to chase after them and get rid of them their penned up aggression.

Charlie might have reservation about fighting Conclave mechas who were piloted by people he still considered his friends. He sure had no qualms about killing Legion raiders who preyed on innocent Gaian citizens to drag them away into slavery.

He lost track of where Brute was, but he was confident that there was nothing able to harm the other mecha out here with him.

Until his com crackled to life with Raphael's voice: "Charlie, run! Legion mechas!"

Charlie did what Harry had drilled into him for hours upon hours - he immediately took to the air where he would be safe from any attacks Legion or Gaian mechas had at their disposal. 

"Give me an area scan!" Harry commanded, now all business.

Charlie cast Archangel's senses out. Brute wasn't hard to spot from his vantage point and Charlie immediately understood why he hadn't asked for assistance - he was being circled by the whole pack of Legion mechas - all four of them.

"Shit!" Charlie muttered.

"He's right, you need to pull out." Harry said calmly. There was never any hint of emotion in his voice in combat situations. Charlie had no idea how his normally scatterbrained, brilliant friend managed to keep his feelings in check like that.

"No way!" he replied heatedly. "I have to do something!"

The Legion mecha Archangel identified as Achilles ducked in for a quick attack with his spear. Brute parried the attack, but it was only a feint as another mecha called Hector used the opening for a slash with his two handed sword.

Charlie heard Raphael groan in pain over the com.

"They're going to kill him, Harry! I won't abandon him to them!" He growled. "Give me an option!"

He heard Harry type furiously. Charlie knew better than to distract him with further demands. He watched with growing despair as the Legion mechas continued their tactic of needling Brute with one of them distracting him for another to land a hit. Curiously the one he knew as Perseus hung back and didn't participate while the other three worked as a well trained team.

"There's a 68% chance this will fail and you will get killed as well. Do you still want to do it?" Harry asked, still sounding completely calm.

"YES!" Charlie shouted angrily.

Harry didn't react to his outburst. "Do you remember when we tried to develop that manoeuvre where you would lift Black Reaper to carry her and then drop her on unsuspecting enemies?" He asked. "It didn't work because she was too heavy. I have since modified Archangel's thrusters, but we never got a chance to try again since Doctor Foster refused. Brute is 6% lighter than Reaper, you should be able to grab him and lift him out of there. You'll just have to be really quick about it so they can't hit you."

"Shit." Charlie muttered again. He couldn't feel it but Archangel's interior sensors told him that his meat body was sweating. "Wish me luck."

"Luck." Harry said and then Charlie accelerated towards the cluster surrounding Brute.


	31. Hall of Heroes, Tiberius' study

"…so we had that Gaian mecha surrounded and were slowly working him over. It was really great, you know? Actual teamwork. Always one of us feinting and the other using the opening for a hit. I may not be great at actual fighting, but I think I did pretty well out there at coordinating."

Tiberius popped another potato chip in his mouth and crunched on it happily. He was sitting at the desk in his study with all lights turned off and the com unit sitting in his lap. Merou was already asleep, but Tiberius would have been much too hyped on the day's event to go to bed already, even if he hadn't agreed on another secret date with Dale for tonight. The two of them had been having long talks on the secure com several times already and each time Tiberius went away with the feeling that he had found a true friend and that their friendship would only grow stronger with time. There was so much they agreed on. And even more they still needed to talk about, so much experience to be exchanged.

"You're telling me that Lucius actually listened to you? Followed orders?" Dale's voice was a bit strained by static, but even with that Tiberius could hear the incredulous tone.

He laughed. "Of course not. He was hanging back and sulking. Must have really pissed him off that we were getting shit done. Especially since Toni has told me this Gaian mecha is actually the leader of theirs and has kicked Lucius' ass repeatedly. I wonder what he was doing out there in the wilderness all by his own."

"Oh, you were beating on Brute?" Dale asked, now sounding impressed. "He is one tough motherfucker."

Tiberius nodded and then remembered that he had to speak up for Dale to know his response. "He sure is. Took a lot of punishment."

Dale snorted in agreement. "Did you take him out?"

"I was getting to that before you interrupted me." Tiberius admonished. "So we were whittling him down and I was starting to think about who should get the killing blow. I pretty much expected Lucius to scream bloody murder as soon as he realized that I had no intention of giving it to him. If I did it myself that would obviously do a world of good for my status over here. But on the other hand I really want to strengthen Toni's and Merou's position. So I had pretty much decided to let Toni do it - him being the senior pilot and all when suddenly another swooped in from above. Never seen anything like that before. He was soaring on some kind of energy wings…"

"Archangel was there?" Dale interrupted. "Oh my god."

"Yeah, that's what Toni called him." Tiberius agreed.

Dale didn't let him continue with his tale. "Is Charlie hurt? Please tell me you didn't kill him!" he demanded anxiously.

"Who?" Tiberius asked back in confusion.

"Charlie… uh… Archangel's pilot." Dale answered. "Archangel used to be a Conclave mecha. Charlie is a friend of mine. A dear friend."

Tiberius looked down at the com unit with raised eyebrows. "Dale… have you noticed that you seem to have friends on all sides of this bloody war?" he asked rather amused.

He was rewarded with an exasperated huff from the Conclave pilot. "Tell me about it. I certainly didn't plan for things to turn out this way. Now tell me, is Charlie okay?"

For the drama of the tale it would have been better to keep the suspense up a little longer, but Dale was clearly worried about his friend, so Tiberius relented. "Yeah, he's okay. Which, discounting the fact that he is a friend of yours, is pretty annoying. He snatched up our prey right from under out noses. Lifted Brute clean off the ground and flew off with him, the bastard."

"He did?" Dale sounded as startled as Tiberius had felt when suddenly a flying mecha appeared out of nowhere and stole their prize. "I didn't know he could do that. I mean, I know Harry was working on something, but honestly I didn't think it was possible."

"Harry?" Tiberius prompted.

"Oh, the scientist who has built Archangel. He and Charlie ran away a few weeks ago and joined up with the Gaians." Dale explained and then sighed. "Seems that wasn't such a smart idea. From the message Harry has sent me since I take it that the Gaians are no better and maybe even worse than the Conclave."

Tiberius mulled that over for a while. Before he had started talking to Dale he hadn't really spent any thought on how people in the other factions were living. He had since learned a lot about the Conclave, but he still didn't have any facts about the Gaians. All he could be sure of was that the Legion propaganda about debauchery, chaos and general madness was just that - propaganda. How else would the Gaians have managed to maintain their power?

From what he could tell the citizens of the individual factions were each happy enough with their lives. It was only the respective leaderships and the military who insisted on become supreme rulers of planet earth. Tiberius had no way of telling what the lower rank soldiers thought of this. After all they all lived in constant exposure to the well crafted propaganda. But the more he heard from Dale the more he thought that none of the mecha pilots were very happy with their lot.

"Dale… remember I asked you to teach me how to disable a slave collar…?" he asked, cautiously leading into what he really wanted to ask.

"Yes?" Dale asked back, just as cautiously suddenly.

Tiberius couldn't help feeling delighted at how easily his friend picked up on his change in mood. "Well, I've told you how Merou is less than happy here and that I needed to know so I might get him a chance to escape, right? What I didn't tell you is that I have been thinking about going with him…"

"That would certainly weaken the Legion a lot. Depending on where you plan to go it might seriously tip the balance." Dale said, sounding less than thrilled.

"That's the thing. I don't want to join another faction. They all seem to be bad in one way or another." Tiberius laid out his thought process. "But even if we took our mechas with us we wouldn't really have a chance to fight off another faction's mechas when they try to capture us and we wouldn't know how to maintain them even if we had the equipment. Of course that would only happen if the other faction actually had any mechas to send after us…"

Dale reaction wasn't quite what he had expected. "Oh my god, that's brilliant!" His friend exclaimed. "If we all go we have the upper hand. Even if just a significant number of each faction's pilots runs and bands up we will have the numbers to be a faction of our own. And Claudia and I could pack up some sort of portable workshop for the mechas. Harry could probably steal enough Gaian biotech to keep their mechas running until we can reverse engineer…"

"Dale, slow down." Tiberius interrupted. "So you are telling me you would actually leave? I mean, you didn't sound like you were suffering or anything, with being a respected scientist and everything…"

"That may be true, but I also never get to work on projects that actually interest me. Like how to get earth out of the vortex. Like building things that will actually benefit people instead of 'moar weapons!'. And while I am respected, that can't be said about other pilots here. And I'm afraid I'm neither callous nor shallow enough to just ignore that."

"So you think the other Conclave pilots would go along with it?" Tiberius asked, just to be sure. It sounded too good to be true to have Dale completely on board with his tentative idea.

"Hell, yes!" Dale exclaimed only to then add. "Well, I'd have to figure out a way to disable Alexander's control chip… Those are like your slave collars, only a little harder to get to since they are imbedded in the brains. But Harry should be able to help me with that since he… I'm pretty sure Claudia will go. She wouldn't let Snare go without her care… uh… I have no idea what Professor Miller will do… I…"

"You realize I have no idea who most of these people are and what you are talking about, right?" Tiberius said with a grin. Dale's enthusiasm was infectious and what had seemed like a mad idea a moment ago looked much more viable when there was someone else who believed it might work.

"I'm sorry." Dale said, audibly trying to calm down. "It's just… it's a great idea! There are about a million things to consider, people to talk to, preparations to make. But it solves so many problems! Charlie will be so happy to have a save place…"

"I'm not so sure he will be inclined to trust any Legion pilots after we just tried to kill them…" Tiberius interrupted.

Dale snorted. "Nonsense. That wasn't personal. I'm sure he'll understand. I just need to figure out a way to get a message to Harry…"

Tiberius sighed softly. "I hope it will work." He said. 

Suddenly he felt very aware of the fact that he was just a teenager who a few weeks ago had still been attending school. How could he be sure that he wasn't making things worse for all of them? On the other hand he had a hard time imagining a worse situation. It was only a matter of time until Lucius figured out a way to get rid of him and then Merou would be at the mercy of dear Janus again. He would just have to act and hope that it would work out.

"We'll make it work." Dale stated with a lot more confidence than Tiberius felt, but having his friend back him up so unconditionally sure helped.


	32. The Hangar

Alexander sat on the weight lifting bench in the training room and watched Jess beat the living daylights out of the punching bag. He didn't know what she was so angry about and he hadn't asked. He'd learned the hard way that speaking to her or offering a sparring match was a sure fire way to becoming a target of her aggression. He didn't really need to ask either - Doctor Foster was always a good bet.

Maybe Jess wasn't smart enough to be one of the respected Conclave scientists, but she wasn't the dumb animal Doctor Foster was treating her like, either. There was only so long you could poke someone with a sharp stick before they snapped. Watching Jess, Alexander worried that this moment would arrive soon. 

It made him wonder what the Conclave would do to her if she attacked Foster. If she injured her, they would surely put the same control chip into her brain that Alexander had. That would be hell since Doctor Foster wouldn't hesitate to use it constantly. He didn't know what they would do if Jess killed the old hag. Their pilots were as precious to them as they were to the other factions, Alexander couldn't really imagine they would put one down. But then - they didn't have an abundance of scientists building mechas either. 

Either way - it would be very bad.

It forced Alexander to think about the conversation he had had with Dale earlier that day.

The longer he was with the Conclave, the more he realized how much he hated thinking for himself. Following orders was so much easier. He had never felt any of these conflicting emotions in all the years he had been a Legion soldier and he missed that. His first gut reaction to Dale's lengthy speech had been to just say Claudia should decide for both of them. It should have been ridiculous that he considered a teenaged, slightly insane girl a fitting commander, but it just felt right - she had yet to let him down in any way and that was more than he could say about any of his Legion commanders. He trusted her judgement.

With a deep sigh, he rubbed his face.

Sadly, Dale was right. This one he had to work out for himself before he could talk to Claudia about it.

The question seemed simple enough - if he got a chance to escape, would he go back to the Legion like he had been hoping to do all along. Or would he do what Dale had proposed - join Dale and whoever else he could convince to leave in forming a new faction of their own.

At first, he had loudly denied that any Legion pilot could be the source of such an idea. He had been sure Legion pilots would be as loyal and disciplined as any Legion soldier. That one of them would make plans of his own was a disturbing thought. That he planned to desert the Legion was unthinkable.

He had listened to Dale describing the situation at the Hall of Heroes in silent denial. He wanted those Legion pilots to be a band of brothers - like they should be. But everything Dale said sounded much too believable. 

Of course they would welcome him back as hero, especially if he brought back Snare. There would be no slave collar waiting for him. But he had no doubt that he would find the same hatred from that established pilot that Dale's friend was facing. Worse, probably, since he was a much more serious contender.

Comparing those prospects to what he had here was sobering. Maybe he was a prisoner, but he'd never had friends like Claudia, Dale and Jess. His fellow legionnaires had been fine men. When he had still been one himself. When he'd never thought about anything beyond the next battle and the next meal. He was unpleasantly aware that he would find them unbearably dull and annoyingly crude if he went back to his old life now.

And that wasn't even the worst of it. Even though he preferred Claudia doing the thinking and decision making, it felt good to be asked his opinion, to be included in deciding his fate. He knew perfectly well that back at the Legion he would once again be expected to follow orders without a second thought. He wasn't sure he would be able to do that again.

The truth was glaringly obvious. He wanted to go with Dale. He wanted Claudia to come as well. The idea of starting something new wasn't as frightening as it should have been. It sounded grand. It sounded like something he wanted to be a part of. Something that would be worth fighting for.

Did that make him a traitor?

He wasn't sure.

He wasn't sure he even cared anymore.

"Hey, grumpy face, what has you in such a mood?" Jess voice asked, suddenly next to him.

He hadn't even noticed that she had abandoned her pounding of the punching bag. Instead she now settled behind him on the weight lifting bench, slung her arms around him and propped her chin on his shoulder. Her bad mood seemed to have fled. Or maybe she thought his bad mood was more interesting than hers.

There was no doubt in his mind that she would grab Reaper and run with them without a moment's hesitation. What would that mean for them, he wondered. Being together without any watching eyes, without anyone controlling their time. Either they would annoy each other very quickly or things would probably get more serious between them. Was he ready for that? Was he ready for a serious relationship with a woman as wild and untamed as Jess? The answer was disturbingly clear.

Jess poked him in the ribs with a sharp finger, as unwilling to be ignored as always. "Hello? Woman talking to you right here." She growled into his ear.

He turned around in her arms and smiled at her. "Sorry, I was thinking about home." Alexander answered truthfully enough, well aware that they were - as always - under surveillance.

"Oh." She said, instantly mollified. "I'm sorry." 

"No, it's alright." He leaned forward and gently nipped at her earlobe. "I was thinking that maybe it isn't so bad here after all. With you."

Jess frowned at him. "And that's why you looked so grumpy?"

She certainly was an observant woman when she wanted to be. "You realize that makes me a traitor to everything the Legion stands for, right?"

"Oh." She said again, but this time it had a rather triumphant ring to it. "Well, in that case, consider yourself conquered." She firmly grabbed him by his hair and kissed him hungrily.

He kissed her back, smiling as he did so. He was conquered alright. Much more thoroughly than she knew. But he'd carefully not talk about love until they were safely out of here. He'd want plenty of space to dodge and run, in case she didn't share his feelings.


	33. The Den, Infirmary

"No, you are not going to inject me with god knows what!" Charlie growled at the medic who had been fussing over him for a good half hour already. "I'm perfectly fine!"

The medic made calming gestures like she was dealing with nervous livestock instead of a sentient man. She was about twice his age. A rotund woman with greying hair and apparently she believed that gave her the right to be obeyed like a respected mother by anyone younger than her. 

"I understand you are agitated." She cooed soothingly. "This will just help you relax. You really don't have to be afraid of the needle. It's just a tiny prick."

Charlie stared at her with growing exasperation. Then inspiration struck. "Listen, you should really check with Doctor Jackson before you inject me with anything." He said, trying to be calm and smile at her. "He says that any kind of drugs can damage my interfacing equipment. He'd be furious if you messed with it."

For a moment the medic looked just as exasperated as Charlie felt, but then the word 'Doctor' seemed to impress her enough that she decided to consult with Harry first. Of course she couldn't know that Harry had earned his Doctor title for his thesis on how to rewire something that Charlie couldn't even pronounce. Maybe his calmer demeanour helped as well.

With a sigh she dropped the syringe back onto a metal tray. "I'm not releasing you." She told him sternly, wagging a finger. "You stay right here while I get Doctor Jackson, you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." He agreed as docilely as he could.

She huffed indignantly and then left the room. It was one of the patient rooms at the Den's infirmary and as pleasant as the rest of the place. Soothing, light green walls and darker green rugs, a sturdy wooden bed and two chairs - all of that successfully gave the impression of a guest room. Only the table with metal trays and medical instruments broke that image.

Charlie had been sitting on the bed, but now he got up to retrieve the shirt the medic had insisted he remove so she could examine him. It was a miracle she had allowed him to keep his pants on.

He had been rushed to this room right after he had returned to the Den. To describe the reaction of everyone as panicked, when he and Bageera had come in, dragging the mangled and inactive form of Brute between them would be an understatement. Still jacked into Archangel it had felt like stepping on an anthill.

When he had lifted Brute out of the circle of attacking Legion mechas he had still been moving feebly, but Charlie had been unable to raise a response from Raphael. At first he had chalked that up to damage to the communication equipment. But shortly after Brute had deactivated completely. That meant that Raphael was either unconscious or dead.

Charlie would have loved to carry Brute all the way back to the Den in flight, but warnings had started to flash all over his vision as Archangel buckled under the strain. So instead he had been forced to land and drag Brute behind him. It had been Harry's idea to get Mouse and send him out to help with his Bageera.

As soon as he exited Archangel he had been swarmed by people asking questions and checking him all over. Harry had not been among them. Charlie had only briefly spotted him, climbing up inside Archangel. If he wasn't worried about Charlie's health then neither was Charlie. Harry was the only Doctor he trusted here anyway. That hadn't deterred them from dragging him to the infirmary. The only reason Charlie had agreed was that he had hoped to see Raphael when they brought him in. That hadn't worked out too well so far, but he fully intended to change that, now that he was rid of the pesky medic.

He moved to the door and opened it as quietly as possible to peer outside through the crack. His plan was to find where they had put Raphael and check on his fellow pilot, but he stopped moving when he heard hushed voices arguing fiercely in the hallway of the infirmary.

"…is a perfect opportunity!" one of them hissed.

"We can't afford to lose a pilot." Charlie recognized the second voice as that of Commander Sky. "not with Olivia inactive."

"Then put her back on active duty." The other voice replied coolly. "There really is no need to coddle her like that. The women of the Collective have always been working through their pregnancies."

"I'm not coddling her, I'm protecting our investment." Natalie answered.

The other voice growled in annoyance. "I don't fucking care. I. Want. Him. Dead." She pronounced every word with such venom it sent shivers down Charlie's spine.

"May I remind you, mother, that he is a thorn in my side, not yours." Natalie hissed back. "You were kind enough to burden me with his constant nagging the moment you found out that he is a pilot."

So she was talking to her mother. Lady Sky herself. And she obviously wanted her brother dead. Charlie leaned his brow against the cool wood or the door. His whole childhood he had believed in the Sky clan like they were some distant, benevolent deities. Even here and now he had somehow clung to the idea that it was just Natalie who was evil. Apparently she had inherited everything she was from her mother.

Lady Diana Sky made a strangled sound of suppressed rage. "I can't believe you're really going to waste this opportunity! No one will even blink, if he dies from his injuries. We can even use his death for some pompous hero funeral. The Sky clan once more giving everything - even their own - for the Collective."

"We can still get rid of him once we are sure Olivia can produce pilot babies for us." Natalie cautioned once more.

Charlie tried to believe that she was trying to protect her uncle, but the cold reason in her voice told him otherwise. She was just calculating chances. In a way she was worse than her mother - to her people were just commodities to be used and discarded as it suited her.

"You'll regret letting this chance pass." Her mother said darkly.

It wasn't clear to Charlie whether it was a threat or simply dark mood. He heard footsteps depart and then after a moment a soft sigh, probably from Natalie. Then she walked off in the opposite direction her mother had gone. He waited a little longer to be sure that both of them were really gone. Then he slipped out of the room to look for Raphael and find out how bad he really was. Not dying, apparently, he thought with black humour, or they wouldn't need to help his death along.

He didn't have to go far. A little further down the corridor, probably right where Natalie and her mother had been arguing, one of the walls had a large glass window set into it, through which another patient room was visible. This one held a lot more advanced medical instruments than Charlie's simple room had. 

On the bed Charlie saw Raphael, connected to a breathing machine and several others which monitored him. He looked pale and bruised. Helpless. A medic was leaning over him, carefully adjusting the pillows he rested on. At least one person who cared for him, Charlie thought unhappily.

He softly knocked against the glass to get the medic's attention. The young man looked up startled, but smiled when he recognized Charlie. He nodded and came to the door, leaving the room as quietly as possible.

"How is he?" Charlie asked immediately.

"Banged up badly." The medic answered. "The chief physician said that normally he'd pull through, but he isn't sure how much damage the interfacing equipment has caused to the brain. Apparently there was some bad feedback."

That were technical details Charlie understood for a change. He knew from experience that the feedback from being jacked in when a mecha was damaged could cause brutal headaches and even knock a pilot unconscious as the brain was unable to tell apart what was happening to the machine and what was affecting the meat body. Three years ago he had spent almost two weeks in a coma when Archangel had crash landed after some freak vortex radiation had messed with his engine. Since then he had taken extra care not to get too close to the invisible line that separated earth's atmosphere from the vortex.

"Is it true you pulled him out of a Legion ambush?" The medic asked, clearly in awe.

Charlie nodded silently. That was the story he had told when he had been asked what happened. He wasn't going to reveal that they had been chasing after those Legion raiders like careless children. They should never have separated, there was a good reason after all why patrols didn't go out solo. He was cursing himself for not sticking with Brute. Maybe he would have spotted the Legion mechas in time for them to make an exit before they could be cornered.

Probably the Legion raiders had sent out a distress signal much as the Gaian scavenging crew had done. And just like Archangel and Raphael the Legion mechas had responded.

The medic patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. You got him back in one piece. We won't let him die now." He said. 

Unless his own family kills him off, Charlie thought angrily. There really was nothing he or the well meaning medic would be able to do to prevent that. Charlie felt just as helpless as Raphael looked.

"There you are!" The deeply annoyed voice of his own medic cut through his dark thoughts. "Didn't I tell you to stay in your room?!"

Charlie took a moment to plaster an innocent look over his anger and worries before he turned around to face the woman. "Oh, I thought you meant stay in the infirmary." He said. "I'm so sorry." He was deeply relived when he spotted Harry following in the medic's wake.

She made shooing gestures towards the room he had been in, but Harry quickly stepped around her, brandishing one of his high tech tools. Charlie was reasonably sure that it was used to read currents in Archangel's wiring, but that didn't stop Harry from waving it around in front of Charlie's face and then peering at it with a frown.

"Just as I thought." He muttered and turned to the medic. "I'll take him back to the workshop now." He told her with stern authority. "There really is nothing you can do to fix him."

She looked as in awe of his title and expertise as everyone who was exposed to his charms for any length of time. "Of course, Doctor." She agreed immediately, once more making shooing gestures, this time to herd Charlie into Harry's care.

He obeyed gratefully. "Thank you." He mouthed at his friend and allowed Harry to manoeuvre him out of the infirmary without resistance. He wanted to get back to the workshop anyway. He needed to tell Harry what he had overheard. Hopefully his friend would be able to fit Raphael into whatever plan he was hatching to get them out of here.


	34. Nova Roma, City Centre

"Senator! Was it a great disappointment when you learned that your son would not be able to follow in your footsteps?"

Tiberius watched as his father turned to the reporter who had asked the question, his smile on in full force, displaying aggressively white teeth.

"Of course not." His father spoke with conviction and gravitas. "It has always been our family's great honour to serve the Legion in whatever way we could. We couldn't be more proud of our son."

He hooked one arm around Tiberius shoulder and pulled him closer so they would present a unified picture of strength and loyalty. Tiberius didn't even try to match his father's thousand watt smile and instead opted for the stern military seriousness he had seen Commander Darius affect whenever he was dealing with the intelligence weasels.

More cameras flashed and Tiberius wondered how the horde of reporters could possibly need any more photos of him and his father. They had been asking questions and snapping pictures for nearly half an hour now.

"Did you expect that your son would be such a successful pilot?" another reporter shouted a question that Tiberius was pretty sure he himself and his father had answered repeatedly already.

"His great-grandfather was a brilliant strategist who led Legion troops to many victories." His father chose yet another new answer that would shine a good light on his family. "I wasn't surprised at all that Tiberius has inherited that ability."

At least that much Tiberius could agree with. He was very aware that he still sucked in actual combat and that his mecha piloting skills were mediocre at best. But he really was good at keeping a clear head in battle and commanding his team. Even if it just consisted of two others.

He glanced over to where Lucius was standing, surrounded by another tight knot of reporters. 

Of course it was just him and Tiberius posing and smiling for the press. Merou and Toni were back at the Hall of Heroes, kept out of sight.

Lucius had been furious when he learned that control over both Merou's and Toni's slave collars was transferred to Tiberius during missions. Tiberius had listened to him complain to Commander Darius how it was his right as senior pilot to have command. Lucius had been furious when Darius brushed him off with the comment that his violent outbursts made him unfit to command anyone since he couldn't even control himself. He hadn't been present when Lucius brought his complaints to Cassius and Janus, but Janus had later informed him about the incident and assured him that they utterly agreed with Commander Darius' decision.

It was a small victory, but a significant one since it allowed Tiberius, Merou and Toni to act as a real team without either of the two slaves having to worry about getting his head blown off. It also made Tiberius feel a lot safer since Lucius was unlikely to attack him when both Merou and Toni where ready and able to protect him.

That of course meant that Lucius would be looking for other, less predictable ways to get rid of his hated competition. Tiberius silently prayed that he wouldn't have to deal with whatever Lucius was planning, that he would be long gone before then.

"Tiberius, can you smile for the camera, please?" Yet another voice pleaded from the throng.

He plastered what he hoped would pass as a pleasing smile onto his face and more flash lights blinded him. At least most of the questions were directed at his father since he had already told them all about his spectacular battles, just like he had been carefully instructed by Cassius and Janus. They were assholes but they did know how to write good propaganda, Tiberius had to give them that.

The press event was taking place in the grand entrance hall of the senate building, providing a suitably impressive backdrop for all those photos. With its grand staircases, white marble floors, columns and statues of half naked, muscle-men wielding ridiculously large weapons it was an often used venue for such events. 

Tiberius scanned the back of the hall, searching for the face of his mother. He spotted her near the table where refreshments were provided for the assembled crowd. 

She had answered a few initial questions, but then stealthily retreated from attention, leaving the spotlight for her husband and son like any dutiful Legion wife and mother. She was the only person present that Tiberius actually did want to talk to.

He carefully extricated himself from his father's jovial embrace and then managed to catch the eye of the Captain of the squad of elite legionnaires which were his assigned bodyguards for this trip. They had agreed on various signals beforehand that Tiberius could use when he needed something. Like a break from the attention. He nodded to the Captain now in the signal they had agreed upon and immediately he and two others moved forward, wading through the reporters like huge armoured predators to get to their charge.

The reporters complained loudly, but were stoically ignored as the legionnaires escorted Tiberius from their midst. Tiberius' father quickly grabbed their attention, happy enough to have them all to himself.

"Thank you, Captain." Tiberius said, making a point of showing his gratitude and acknowledging the man's good work. "I would like to speak to my mother in private for a bit. Do you think you can make that happen?"

The smile in his eyes didn't reach the rest of his face, but Tiberius got the distinct impression that the Captain approved. "Of course, sir." He said and gestured to more of his men, who were strategically placed throughout the hall. Then he led Tiberius to one of the smaller doors, leading to some service corridor, Tiberius guessed. 

By the time they arrived, his mother approached from the other direction, accompanied by another legionnaire. She was smiling fondly and looked like she was genuinely proud of him. Not like his father who was faking it for his own benefit, but truly proud of what her son had accomplished. He wanted to run up to her, shake her and shout at her that it was all a lie. Though he tried to keep a tight grip on his emotions some of it must have shown through as she suddenly frowned.

The legionnaires ushered both of them through the door. One stayed outside, making sure that they wouldn't be disturbed. The Captain and one more of his men went further down the corridor, blocking off access to them from that side and giving them privacy.

His mother immediately abandoned decorum and hugged Tiberius. For a long, exhausted moment he just leaned against her with his eyes closed, wishing that he would find himself back at his parents' home, when he opened his eyes. Back in his old room, just woken up from a nightmare. 

"Tiberius? What's wrong?" His mother asked, gently separating him from herself and holding him at arm's length to check him over like only a mother could.

"Everything." Tiberius answered softly.

He had had several lengthy debates with himself what he would tell his mother. He couldn't just leave without speaking with her again, but he had decided that it simply wasn't safe for her to know that he planned to run, that he was conspiring with a Conclave scientist - of all people - to desert the Legion. He loved her, but he had told himself again and again that he couldn't risk it. Now that she stood in front of him the truth just bubbled out of him.

"Lucius plans to kill me, I completely suck at being a pilot, I hate how they are treating the other pilots, I hate fighting and killing when there is no sane reason for it, I hate all of it."

"Oh." She answered softly and then sighed. "I was so hoping it wouldn't be as bad as you expected it would be."

Tiberius shrugged helplessly. "I tried. I really did. You said that the Legion needed pilots, needed the protection. I tried."

"Oh love, no!" She cupped his face with both hands. "Don't try on my account. I just want you to be happy. You know I don't care about politics and duty and honour and all that hogwash."

And she wasn't just saying that, Tiberius reminded himself. This was the woman who unconditionally had supported his wish to become neither a soldier nor a politician but a doctor. The woman who had listened to him rant about the propaganda they were daily fed in school and had cheered him up with some sarcastic comment every time. If there was any mother who just might understand what he was about to do it was her.

He glanced down the corridor to where the two legionnaires were standing guard. Far enough away not to overhear, but he couldn't be entirely sure they were not being monitored somehow. He couldn't outright tell her, but he could hope that she would put the pieces together. 

"I just don't want you to be disappointed in me." He said carefully. "If… if something happens…"

Tiberius could have kissed he beautiful, smart mother, when she cocked her head to the side quizzically and frowned at his tone of voice. He could practically see the wheels spin in her head. "You know I will never be disappointed in you as long as you do what is right." She answered just as carefully.

"Thank you." He acknowledged everything they did not say out loud and then hugged her again.

She hugged him back and for a long moment they remained like that. 

He was painfully aware that this was probably the last time he would ever see her. During their last talk Dale had warned him that Commander Darius had signed an order to have extra safety measures installed in the mechas. That Dale was still monitoring Legion systems and gathering intel hadn't even surprised Tiberius anymore. After the upgrades were performed it would be possible to remotely deactivate the mechas. That would make escape much harder so they would have to run very soon.

His father would blame her of course. He had always accused her of coddling Tiberius and putting silly ideas into his head. But she had been dealing with the idiot her whole adult life. Tiberius was hopeful now that she would manage the crisis of his defection as well.

When they separated he felt much more confident. He even managed a genuine smile for his mother. She nodded at him, now once more looking proud.

"Shall we let the mob have some cosy mother and son photo opportunities?" she asked with a wink.

Tiberius groaned, but he kept his smile. Today's event would be all over the newspapers and magazines. He'd receive copies of the best. Having a photo of his mother to carry with him when he ran away was a comforting thought.


	35. The Hangar, mess hall

"The hardest part was actually getting sufficient data about the layout of your Hall of Heroes beforehand. I mean, back here, when I need any data I'm not supposed to have I simply hack into the network and grab what I need. But damn, Legion networks are such a mess. Connections are unstable or wired weirdly, data is stored in clumps, dating of files seems to be completely random. Seriously, the last filed blueprint of the Hall of Heroes is the original plans! I have no idea how your people ever find anything!"

Dale threw up his hands in amused exasperation.

"Maybe it a clever ploy to confuse Conclave spies?" Jess suggested, grinning.

"Or they are trying to copy the stellar order of your lab setups?" Alexander offered, grinning as well.

"Hey! I know exactly where everything is in my lab!" Claudia exclaimed in mock offense.

"Does that include the fossilized sandwich I found in your desk when I was helping you look for that screwdriver?" Alexander asked, smiling at her fondly.

They were sitting in the mess hall. Their lunch had consisted of the usual variously flavoured nutrition cubes and energy drinks, but Dale had used his status to get some fresh grapes which he now shared with them as he finally told the tale of how he had stolen Prometheus.

"That is a very precious memento!" Claudia explained the ancient sandwich Alexander had discovered in her work desk near Snare a few days ago. "You know how hard it is to get a sandwich around here."

"Especially such a hard sandwich." Alexander added very seriously.

It earned him a mock punch by Claudia. 

"Anyway," Dale interrupted their friendly bantering, "Since you Legion people were so very uncooperative I ended up hacking into the surveillance grid of the Hall instead. Turns out you totally don't trust your own people, there are cameras everywhere. So I was able to piece together an accurate floor plan from that, including security measures, patrol schedules. All the data you need to plan a proper heist."

Dale popped another grape into his mouth and then continued: "Turns out the easiest way to go anywhere in the Hall is being a slave. Their collars are programmed with access codes to where they are allowed to go. So the security scanners just read out the codes and if they match the doors open. They don't actually get checked by life security staff. Obviously slaves normally don't get access codes for high security areas. It was quite easy to make a fake slave collar for myself and program it with an all access code. Wearing typical slave garb and keeping my head down was enough to wander through the Hall as I pleased."

Alexander groaned and buried his face in his hands. It sounded horrifically believable. Slaves were ignored like furniture by Legion citizens unless they did something to draw notice. Which most of them carefully avoided. 

Dale chuckled and patted his back comfortingly. "Don't worry, they have closed some of those security holes now. Each slave gets a collar with a unique identification code."

"Uh, couldn't you just write your own code and register it in the system as legit?" Claudia asked.

"Sssh!" Dale shushed her. "Can't you see I am trying to comfort our poor friend here?"

That earned him a companionable smack over the head from Jess. "Teasing him, is what you are!" She admonished. "Now get on with the bloody story."

"Actually it was really unbloody…" Dale suddenly stopped mid-sentence and his cheerful expression turned to a frown as he looked at something behind Alexander, who was sitting with his back to the mess entrance.

When Alexander turned around to look as well, his heart skipped as he saw who had entered the mess. Doctor Lunay was in the lead, but she was followed by Professor Scorten and two of his more burly assistants.

Claudia turned as well and Alexander saw all colour drain from her face as she noticed the Professor.

"Ah, there you are!" Scorten exclaimed as he spotted them and quickened his steps towards their table. Alexander wasn't quite sure whether he was addressing Claudia or himself.

He felt like the ground was rapidly dissolving underneath him. Panic clawed at him, but at the same time he felt unable to even breathe and some part of him wondered if maybe this was just another nightmare.

"Professor…" Claudia greeted him icily.

"Claudia." Doctor Lunay said in a warning tone. "Professor Scorten is here to reclaim his project."

"His… project…?" Claudia almost chocked on the words. "Alexander is…"

"His project." Doctor Lunay repeated more firmly. "You know the rules: A scientist has absolute power over his own project."

Obviously she was well aware of the friendship that had grown between Claudia and Alexander. Not that it would do him one bit of good, Alexander thought. He was feeling strangely detached from the whole scene. Like they were talking about someone else. Like all of this didn't concern him in any way.

"I would think that losing an active pilot would bring that rule into question." Dale spoke up. Of course he would be thinking quick enough to come up with more coherent arguments than kicking and screaming.

Doctor Lunay's expression soured even more. "One would think so, yes." She agreed. "But the Council has decided otherwise."

So even she didn't want to hand him over, Alexander thought, and it still wouldn't save him.

"Professor Scorten assures me that in due time our pilot will returned to us with minimal damages." Lunay added.

"Enough of this chattering." Scorten interrupted. "We've wasted plenty of time with your pointless appeal already." He turned to Claudia. "The controller, please."

Alexander felt Claudia bristle next to him. He didn't even have to look at her to know that she was getting ready to fight. She wouldn't give him up to that maniac who would probably cut him open and complain about his lack of survival afterwards. She would destroy any chance for a scientific career she had just to protect him.

What caught his attention was Dale across from him, who was looking at him with desperate intensity, as if he was trying to tell Alexander something vitally important without saying it aloud. A glance at Jess showed him that she was just as tense as Claudia, ready to fight. Her hands lay on the table, balled to hard fists. But one of Dale's hands lay on her wrist, holding her down. Jess was trembling with barely suppressed fury, but suppress it she did.

Because they couldn't afford a fight now, Alexander realized. Their plans for escape would be ruined. Dale nodded, aware that Alexander had understood.

It wasn't so different from running at an enemy, Alexander thought, as he stood up abruptly. He'd jump into the maw of the beast and trust in his friends to pull him back out again. Because it was the right thing to do.

"Let's go then." He said and he was proud that his voice didn't shake at all.

"What…? No!" Claudia stood as well, outrage in her eyes.

"Don't be difficult now, girl." Scorten admonished. "The controller." If he was surprised that Alexander didn't resist he didn't show it.

"Give it to him, Claude." Dale added. "Fighting about it now is pointless."

Claudia drew breath to tell Dale exactly what she though of that, but when she looked at her friend Alexander could see in her face, how she too realized what they had to do.

She tore the controller from her wrist and pretty much threw it at the Professor. Her eyes told Alexander how very sorry she was. 

But it wasn't her decision, it was his. He'd have to tell her later. There would be a later, he told himself firmly.

"Your irrational behaviour does not befit a proper scientist…" Scorten launched into a verbal lashing, but he was cut short be Doctor Lunay.

"You got what you came for, now remove yourself from MY project." She hissed.

The two glared at each other for a moment, then Scorten turned on his heel with an indignant huff and stalked out. The two burly assistants stepped up to Alexander to grab him, but he followed the Professor before they could.


	36. Hall of Heroes, Tiberius' quarters

"Tiberius? Thank god you're there!"

Tiberius blinked at the com unit in surprise. It was nice to be missed, but this wasn't quite the greeting he had expected from Dale.

He was sitting in his study, with the huge chair behind the desk turned towards the window so that if anyone unexpected happened to wander in they wouldn't immediately spot what he was doing. Not that he expected anyone but Merou to wander in. But it never hurt to be careful. 

Outside it was almost completely dark. Only a faint, sickly greenish glitter from the vortex could be seen in the sky. The Hall of Heroes lay quiet.

"It's nice to hear you too, Dale." Tiberius commented, trying for some humour. Judging from Dale's tone, he had the sinking feeling that there would be nothing funny about the conversation they were about to have. He was still a bit rattled from meeting his mother two days ago and he had been hoping to ask Dale about his family to see how his friend was coping with leaving them behind.

"Things over here are moving a bit faster than I had hoped." Dale said. "We are leaving tonight. Hopefully."

"What? Why?" Tiberius exclaimed. That certainly wasn't what they had carefully planned.

"We have to. This afternoon Professor Scorten showed up and reclaimed Alexander for further experiments."

By now they had shared enough information that the names meant something to Tiberius. He had found it deeply amusing that the Conclave had a real legionnaire for a pilot while the Legion themselves had to make do with slaves, a primadonna and a school boy.

"At least that's what he claimed." Dale continued, sounding deeply concerned. "I'm guessing his further studies have hit a wall and he plans to cut Alexander open to figure out why his treatment worked on him and no one else. We can't let that happen. Claude and Jess are trying to get him back right now while I'm running interference on the security system." Dale made a small, distressed sound. "Tiberius, I'm scared. This… it sounded like a great adventure and a good idea… but right now it's so real and terrible."

For a moment Tiberius wasn't sure what to say. The floor had suddenly dropped away under his feet and he felt like he was barely hanging on. But then Dale's very real fear got through to him and that somehow helped him to pull himself together.

"It will all work out." He said firmly. "From everything you have told me about Claude and Jess they are two badass girls who will not let anyone stand in their way. They will get him out and then you will be free."

"It's just… Claude needs to remove Alexander's chip… I was hoping I would be able to get some advice on that from Harry before we had to do it…" Dale explained.

Tiberius shrugged, even though he knew Dale wouldn't be able to see it. "As far as you've told me Claude is the one who regularly cuts open people."

"True." Dale sighed deeply, sounding calmer now. "It's just scary, you know?"

Tiberius laughed mirthlessly. "Yeah, no shit. I'm scared too. But that won't stop us." 

He stared out the window at the darkness outside for a little while. He and Dale had run through various possible escape scenarios for both of them. 

At first Tiberius had thought that it would be easiest to wait for a mission where Tiberius was sent out with both Merou and Toni. They could then simply disappear, meet up with the Conclave pilots and Dale could disable the slave collars. The glaring problem with that while they were on the run Merou and Toni were at an uncomfortably high risk of getting their heads blown off should they for some unlucky reason get in range of any Legion commander with the proper remote controls to the collars. 

The next best idea had been for Tiberius to learn how to disable the collars right before such a mission. That wouldn't work since Merou had informed him that his collar was carefully checked every time before he boarded his mecha.

The final plan they had come up with was that Tiberius would wait for a night just like this one, disable the collars and then they would steal the mechas and go, fighting their way out if they had to.

"So I guess that means we are going now as well." Tiberius said, his voice only a little shaky at the prospect. Dale had promised to wreak havoc on the Hall's security systems when they ran. He'd hardly be able to do that once he didn't have access anymore to his vast array of equipment the Conclave base offered.

"I guess." Dale agreed in a small voice.

Tiberius rubbed his face, trying to get more awake. It was the middle of the night and he had stayed up to talk with Dale. Escaping the Hall would need a lot more alertness. "Are you sure you can run interference both for Claude and me over here?" he asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. It's not like I have to be super subtle with Legion security. I can just shut down the whole thing which sadly is impossible with how things are set up over here."

There was no point in delaying, it would just give him more time to panic, Tiberius thought. "Okay, I will wake Merou and get Toni and then you can walk me through disabling those collars, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Waking up Merou was a calculated hazard. He wasn't happy at being disturbed but the moment he learned the reason he was instantly alert. Tiberius envied him just a little bit. Getting Toni was a simple matter of finding a guard and telling him to bring the other pilot to him, accompanied with a little smirk that made the guard think he wanted the slave for some sort of late night entertainment. That the guard didn't question him at all but smirked back knowingly just confirmed why he really needed to get out of there.

Fifteen minutes later he was sitting in the now brightly lit bedroom with an excited Merou and a thoroughly confused Toni. He had just brought Toni up to speed on the progress of their escape plans and being barely awake the man was still blinking at the sudden turn of events, watching as Tiberius very, very carefully worked in Merou's collar under the strict supervision of Dale voice from the com unit.

Tiberius silently thanked his mother who had insisted he play plenty of games to school his hand-eye-coordination in preparation for some day becoming a doctor and hopefully a surgeon.

"Okay, if you have done everything correctly you can now cut the last wire." Dale announced after several tense minutes of fiddling with the complex mechanism.

Tiberius held his breath as he cut that wire and then exhaled loudly when nothing happened.

"Did you?" Dale asked nervously.

"Yeah, no kaboom." Merou answered while Tiberius took the collar off him and carefully deposited it on the nightstand.

"One down, one to go." Tiberius added and smiled encouragingly at Toni.

The second collar went a lot faster since Tiberius was much surer what he had to do.

"All right," Dale said over the com, "I'm going to do a complete shutdown of the Hall's security system. It will take them at least 15 minutes to reboot. That is your time to get to your mechas and jack in. Once you have the superior firepower of your mechas you should be able to fight your way through whatever they decide to throw at you."

"How are things going on your end?" Tiberius asked quickly.

Dale grumbled under his breath. "We've hit some unexpected difficulties but we are back on track. If things keep running smoothly we should be on our way in about an hour." He didn't sound as sure as Tiberius would have liked him to.

"Good luck!" Tiberius said. He was pleasantly surprised when both Merou and Toni echoed him.

"To you too." Dale replied. "Now get going. Once I shut down the security I'm going to be packing so I won't be monitoring the Hall anymore. Shutting down security… now."

Tiberius somehow expected blaring sirens or something else announcing that there was a major problem at the Hall, but everything remind just as quiet as it had been. Which of course was the whole point, he reminded himself. Somewhere in the bowels of the Hall some lone night time security guard watching monitors was freaking out right now and would eventually wake up Janus or Cassius. But with a little luck they would by gone by then.

"Let's go." Merou roused him from his musings.

Luckily the times where there had been a constant guard on his door to be available to any questions a newbie might have were over. The three of them slipped out quietly and quickly made their way downstairs. The few guards that were about at this hour were clustered around security consoles, trying to figure out while their equipment had suddenly died.

They safely made it to the ground floor and where about to make their way to their individual mechas, when a voice from behind them stopped them.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"Lucius." Tiberius muttered under his breath as he turned around to face his personal nemesis.

The other pilot stood on the bottom step of the stairs pointing an frighteningly large looking gun at them.

"We are checking why security isn't answering my call." Tiberius lied the first thing that came to his mind.

Lucius snorted. "Yeah, right." He gestured with the gun at Merou and Toni. "And that is why they are not wearing their slave collars, is it? I've had my eyes on you all this time, just had to wait for the right moment. Now, I have no idea what your plan is, but I've caught you. You're done, boy. They will lock you up in some deep cell. Right until they execute you for treason. Not even your senator daddy can save you now."

Tiberius desperately tried to think of something to say, but while he was still mentally scrambling, Merou already moved. It seemed impossible that he would move so quickly, but he was already behind Lucius with a firm grip on the other pilot's gun hand, before Tiberius had time to even realize what he was doing. For a moment they wrestled and all Tiberius could think was 'don't shoot, don't shoot' and then Lucius dropped the gun with a pained cry. Merou wrapped his arm around Lucius' neck and for a moment he looked at Tiberius over Lucius' shoulder. Tiberius stared back at him in mute shock. Then Merou quickly twisted his grip and Tiberius was swept with nausea at the crunching sound of Lucius neck breaking.

"Oh my god." Tiberius whispered. Feeling lightheaded he watched at Merou let the unmoving Lucius slip to the ground. No, not unmoving, he corrected himself, dead. He was dead. Just like that. The thought should have been sobering and kicked him back into action, but all he could do was keep staring at the surprised expression on Lucius' face.

"We have to go." Toni urged him.

Merou wasn't so timid. He grabbed Tiberius by the arm and hauled him away. "I told you I'd kill him for you." He stated calmly, as he pushed Tiberius towards his mecha. "Now get moving."


	37. The Hangar, Professor Scorten's lab

Alexander woke with a start, instantly alert. He was surrounded by the usual hum of machinery that was ever present at the Hangar. There was a sharp pain piercing the back of his skull, but apart from that he was feeling fine.

The last thing he remembered was the Professor peering down at him with the curiosity one might afford a colourful insect.

They had brought him straight to the lab and strapped him to the familiar examination table. He hadn't bothered fighting. There really was no way he could get free. He had trusted that his friends would find a way to save him in time.

Scorten hadn't addressed him directly, like he had done in Alexander's dreams. It had brought back the cold but strangely comforting reality that the Professor didn't actually enjoy the act of torturing Alexander - he simply didn't see Alexander as more than a fascinating specimen to be studied. There was nothing personal about it. There really was nothing personal about Scorten at all. He had been treating his assistants just as coldly when he ordered them to put Alexander under.

"Why isn't he waking up? You said he would wake up!"

Alexander's eyes flew open at Jess' voice, growling with barely concealed threat.

She was standing right next to the examination table and he now noticed that one of her hands was tightly wrapped around his own left hand. His untied left hand. Her attention was currently focused on someone on the other side of the table.

When he made the mistake of turning his head he groaned as the pain in his head multiplied. He had a moment to notice that Professor Scorten was tied to a lab chair, slumped over and sporting a purple bruise on his temple and that Claudia was standing at one of the control banks.

Then Jess blocked his field of view as she leaned down over him, looking pale with worry and at the same time trying to smile encouragingly at him.

"Hey," she whispered, like too much sound would break him, "how are you feeling, darling?"

Seeing her act so lovey-dovey sweet was rather weird.

"Fine." He croaked. "Like someone stabbed me in the head."

Jess glared over at Claudia again. "If you have fried his brain…" she started threateningly.

"…he would not be talking to you." Claudia completed her sentence. "He'd be a vegetable." She came over as well, peering down at him and then glared back at Jess. "His vital signs are strong, he's not in a coma. All things considered I think I've done a mighty fine job."

"I'm right here, you know." Alexander tried to shoot for some humour. "What happened? How long have I been…?"

"Only a few hours." Jess answered. "Dale insisted that we gather everything up that we want to take away before we came to fetch you. I was so worried about you."

So she really did like him, Alexander thought and couldn't help smiling at her a little stupidly. Maybe getting kidnapped by evil Professors wasn't so bad when it got your super cool girlfriend to show some genuine worry. He was smart enough not to mention that, though.

"We made Professor Scorten assist us with extracting the chip from your brain." Claudia explained the pain in his head.

"He was rather reluctant at first," Jess added with a wicked smile, "but I fixed that." It was reassuring to see her turn back into the hard-assed bitch Alexander had fallen in love with.

Both women helped him sit up. The pain in his head was annoying, but by far not as crippling as Scorten's previous experiments on him had been.

"How do you feel?" Claudia asked worriedly. "Do you think you can pilot Snare?"

"Of course!" Alexander growled. The thought of leaving his mecha behind was much more painful than a measly headache. "I am NOT leaving Snare and if I have to carry him!"

When he got off the table he had to lean against it for a moment to find his balance, but then he was able to walk on his own. "Where is Dale?" he asked.

"Back up in the Hangar, he's running interference on the security system as much as he can." Claudia explained. "I'm not sure how much longer he can distract the system."

"Let's get out of here, then." Alexander smiled at her. Then he remembered that there was another important thing he needed to say. "Thank you."

Claudia just shrugged and smiled, but Jess snarled. "You are mine! There is no way I will let some egghead steal you."

It was truly heart warming.

The way up from the labs deep beneath the Hangar was rather uneventful. They moved as like they were perfectly justified in being there and the security checkpoints beeped them through without a hitch. Once more Alexander was reminded what a brilliant kid Dale really was. 

Back up in the Hangar itself they found the young Doctor busily tying several large crates together to a mecha sized bundle like they used to haul home salvage from flotsam impact sites. 

The moment he noticed them, Dale greeted them by wrapping Alexander in a heartfelt hug. It was a little too emotional for Alexander's liking, but he didn't complain. Having friends like these was a gift. He certainly wouldn't moan about the details.

Alexander was starting to feel a little dizzy, but he didn't complain. If Claudia thought he was unable to pilot Snare she might start arguing again.

"I've packed our essential stuff into Snare. The rest is in the crates." She explained as they climbed up the scaffolding. "I'll have to ride with you in the cockpit."

The cockpit was stuffed to capacity. Only the pilot chair and just enough room for Claudia to squeeze into remained. Alexander had no idea what most of the stuff was, but he didn't really care either. He trusted Claudia.

He settled into Snare's pilot chair with a happy sigh. With a little smile Alexander thought back to the first time he had sat here, nervous and scared. Now he could hardly wait to jack into Snare, to feel the insane power of the hulking monster of steel become his own. The prongs slit home into his sockets and his senses expanded as Snare's system came online.

Feeling Claudia inside the cockpit with him was a little weird, but he focused his senses outward. Black Reaper was coming online as well and he could see Dale climb up to Prometheus cockpit. They were ready to roll.

"Your vitals are not as good as I'd like them to be." Claudia's voice said, not over the com, but right next to his meat body, startling him. "But I guess it will have to do for now."

Alexander didn't care. He itched to move, to finally be free of the Hangar.

Then Prometheus came online as well. "I'm going to carry the supplies." Dale said over the com. "You'll have to defend me, if…"

Snare shuddered to life as alarm sirens started to blare all over the Hangar. Alexander immediately moved to a defensive position close to Prometheus, who was picking up the huge bundle of crates, while Reaper already moved towards the Hangar gates. They were firmly shut and the code Alexander sent at them was rejected.

Moments later the Hangar was filled with the deafening screech of ripping metal as Reaper's scythe tore the gates open. While Alexander still scanned for some sort of security forces arriving the alarm stopped as abruptly as it had started. Simultaneously the lights went out and Snare's sensors informed him that all the generators set deep beneath the Hangar had shut down.

"What the…?" Claudia muttered.

"I used the alien device we discovered to sort of EMP the generators." Dale explained as Prometheus started moving out, at first stumbling slightly under his load but then finding his balance.

"You're leaving it here?!" Claudia asked incredulously. "What if they figure out…"

"Of course not." Dale interrupted her. "It's rigged to self destruct as soon as they figure out a way to restart the generators. Which should take them a while with no power to operate anything."

"Shame to lose it, though." Alexander commented, following Prometheus. "I'd sure love to have something like an off button for enemy tech."

From outside a series of blasts could be heard. "Will you stop chatting and move?!" Jess barked over the com. "There are unhappy people firing rockets at me and I'd rather leave then shred them"

Snare ducked through the torn gates after Prometheus and found Reaper under fire from a squad of brave Conclave soldiers, who were using handheld rocket launchers from their station on the roof of the Hangar.

"Jess, you take point." Dale commanded calmly. "Alexander you guard the rear. Let's go."


	38. somewhere in the middle of nowhere

Tiberius watched the slow pulse of the sky, feeling his heart try to match the steady rhythm but failing do so, the vortex' pulse being much too slow. It was still immensely calming and he needed to calm down. 

The hours since they had fled from the Hall of Heroes had been a rollercoaster of emotions. First the shock of watching Lucius die, then the mad chase, running from the troops sent after them by Legion command. The nerve wracking, one sided conversation when Commander Darius had contacted him via com to convince him to come home. He hadn't answered the Commander and felt terrible about it. Then the long run through barren wasteland on their way to what was to become their new home which way too much time to think about all the things that could go wrong.

At last they had arrived at the remote network of canyons which he and Dale had picked to be their refuge. It was nearly inaccessible by anything that was not a mecha, had extensive caverns that could be remodelled to house the mechas and their pilots. Fresh water ran from an underground spring. The tundra to the south was home to the tribes that Merou had been captured from so they could trade with them - protecting from further raiding for food. Eventually they would have to do some raiding of their own to get more equipment and spare parts for the mechas. The three Conclave mechas had reactors of their own and would only very rarely need fresh fuel cells. The Legion mechas were not as advanced and required regular refuelling.

The original plan to seek refuge with Merou's people outright had been discarded. They agreed that giving that much firepower into the hands of a single tribe was not a good idea. Even Merou had grudgingly admitted that he could not guarantee his people wouldn't try to use the mechas to subjugate their neighbouring tribes.

Next had been the first confrontation between the Legion and the Conclave mechas. Tiberius had almost thought himself into the panicked certainty that they would get in a fight. First when they faced each other in their mechas. Then, when he had seen the legionnaire called Alexander. He had been sure the hulking, grizzled warrior would immediately challenge him and Dale for leadership of their rag tag band. Instead the man had pretty much collapsed into the arms of the blue haired girl.

And finally there had been Dale, who grinned at him tiredly and then wrapped him in a close embrace. Much too close and warm to be merely friendly. And it had felt way too good, way too right to cling back at the mad scientist.

"Tomorrow we need to figure out how we will free the Gaian pilots." Dale said thoughtfully.

Tiberius squeezed his hand, just to reassure himself that Dale was still lying right next to him. That all the mind blowing events were real. Even more to reassure himself that he hadn't just imagined kissing Dale. That he hadn't just imagined lying here at the top of the canyon, holding hands with Dale. Not alone and confused, but together and even more confused.

"We'll figure something out," he answered, "but I think we deserve a little rest."

"Yeah." Dale shifted next to him, turning on his side and Tiberius followed suite.

He could only make out the outline of Dale's mob of spiky hair against the faint greenish glow of the sky. His fingers were nervously playing with Tiberius' fingers, giving him a clue of what the other pilot would say next.

"Tiberius… I wanted to say… to talk about… I… uh…" Dale stammered, apparently as confused by what had happened between them as Tiberius felt himself. So this was not something he had carefully planned, like he did with everything else.

"You're not trying to apologize, are you?" Tiberius asked with a little smirk, well aware that it was invisible in the dark.

"No!" Dale huffed indignantly. "Yes…" He then muttered. "I'm not sure…"

Tiberius stroked his hand reassuringly. "Don't." He said and as he said it he realized that it was true. 

With everything else that had been going on he hadn't had any time to think about Dale as anything than a marvellous miracle, a friend he had always wanted but never had. Someone who understood him, had been able to finish his sentences after only knowing him for a few minutes. Maybe if he had probed those feelings a little more deeply he would have noticed that additional tickle when he remembered Dale's infectious grin, would have recognized that warm feeling in the pit of his stomach as more than friendship.

"I just don't want you to feel rushed into this… whatever this is…" Dale explained haltingly. "I mean, I'm not even sure what Legion customs are in this regard…"

Tiberius grinned. Every Legion citizen was expected to marry a citizen of the opposite gender and provide the Legion with plenty of strong sons and caring daughters.

"I can assure you that Legion customs are the least of my worries." He said. "If they ever capture me I will face a most spectacular public execution and no amount of kissing boys will make it any worse now."

Dale's reaction wasn't quite what he had expected, but it warmed him to the core. "I would never let anything happen to you!" he growled fiercely. "I'd come rescue you or die trying!"

Tiberius leaned forward and rested his brow against Dale's. "As would I." He confirmed calmly. "All of this is terrifying, but being in it together… that makes it work somehow. I would have been happy with you as my best friend." He tried to put his feelings into words. "But if I can have more than that, I will gladly take it."

It seemed to be exactly what Dale had needed to hear as Tiberius felt the tension drain out of his body.

"Okay." He said simply.

For a long moment they remained like that, but then Dale twitched nervously. "So… do you think we could… again…?"

Tiberius laughed breathlessly. Their one kiss so far had been short and shy. No need for that anymore, he thought and claimed Dale's lips. It was a little clumsy, but that didn't make it any less amazing.

Some over analytic part of him wondered at how good kissing could feel, how it made him feel warm and tingly and safe. It was his first experience in the field. At school he had always been the somewhat nerdy guy that no girl was interested in since he didn't excel at sports and didn't plan on joining the military. He wondered how Dale had fared in that regard. After all in the Conclave being the nerdy guy had to be highly attractive.

When they both came up for breath Dale whispered: "Wow." Tiberius felt a shudder run through him. "That is… I mean… just wow…" Almost like echoing his own thoughts he asked: "Have you kissed many girls?"

"No." Tiberius replied truthfully. If there was one person he felt he didn't need to ever lie to it was Dale. "None actually."

"Me neither." Dale answered. "Didn't know what I was missing." He added with a little giggle. "Here we are, the leaders of the great rebellion and…"

"Oh, shut up." Tiberius laughed back at him and then shut him up for good with more kissing.


	39. The Den

When Charlie arrived at the briefing room, nearly ten minutes had passed since he had been woken up and told to report immediately. He was still dragging his feet and made no attempt to hide it. The time when he had willingly followed Commander Natalie's orders was long passed and they both knew it.

Only when he heard loud voices arguing from inside, did he speed up. One voice was the Commander, but the other one he recognized as her mother's and that certainly was unusual.

Everyone else was there already. Mouse and Lena were standing in the background, trying very hard not to get noticed. Raphael had woken up from his coma, but he was still confined to sick bay with a stunning variety of injuries. Even if he had been up and about he wouldn't have been present, though. Brute was a wreck. It would take months to rebuild the mecha. The true surprise was Olivia who was watching the exchange between mother and daughter avidly.

Charlie was just in time.

"Enough!" Lady Diana Sky barked at her daughter. "She will go out. We will not risk losing another pilot. We will make use of our advantage in numbers. That is an order!"

It gave Charlie a fierce flash of pleasure to see Commander Natalie being bullied for once.

Lady Sky turned on her heel and stalked out of the meeting room, taking any chance for further discussion from her daughter. The Commander looked like she was ready to eat her own teeth. She whirled on Charlie.

"So nice of you to join us as well." She hissed, taking out her anger on him.

Charlie just shrugged and grinned insolently. He was dying to learn what mission was so urgent that Olivia would be allowed to join it, but he certainly wouldn't give Natalie the satisfaction of asking. He waited for her to spit fire at him, but instead she turned on Olivia next.

"You will be careful!" she growled. "Don't take any risks, you hear me? Or I swear you will never step foot into your precious Mantis again!"

Even with a ton of good will the expression that Olivia bared her teeth with couldn't be called a smile. "Of course, Commander." She lied blatantly.

It made Charlie's heart swell with pride and love for her. It would have been smarter pretending to be good little soldiers, of course, but making Natalie feel how much they hated her felt so much better.

The Commander turned back and forth between them like a cornered predator and for a moment Charlie hoped that she would snap and do something so stupid her mother might take her position from her. But she caught herself. With an indignant huff she pulled her uniform straight.

"Mouse, you are in command of this mission." She said icily. "See to it that it is a success."

Then she stalked out of the room with much the same posture as her mother had.

"Damn, she really needs to get laid." Lena commented with deep conviction, demonstrating a complete lack of understanding what kind of power play she had just witnessed.

Mouse rubbed his face with both his large hands. "Right." He grumbled, obviously unhappy with being saddled with the position of leader. "Let's get hooked up and out there."

"So what's this all about?" Charlie asked Olivia, who fell in stride next to him.

"A pack of Legion mechas has been spotted heading for one of our outposts." She explained. "Three of the, apparently the same ones that took out Raphael. Seems they are getting cocky."

"Oh." Charlie clearly remembered the three Legion mechas working in perfect synchrony. "They are dangerous."

Olivia smiled at him and then leaned forward to kiss him briefly. "To you I promise I will be careful, if you do the same."

Charlie used the opportunity to pull her close and quickly run his hand over her belly. They had gotten confirmation that Olivia was indeed pregnant only two days ago. "I will." He promised.

-

The Legion mechas en route to the outpost should have reached it before the Gaian pilots could intercept them, but apparently they had stopped when they spotted their enemies on their scanners. They were waiting for the Gaian defenders in an open field outside the village, illuminated by the sickly greenish glow of the sky. They were in a tight formation with the one wielding a two-handed sword in the centre, flanked by one with a huge club and another one with a spear. Charlie had never managed to remember the names. Legion mechas all looked the same and had similar names with the only discerning factor being their weapons.

"Let's kill those fuckers!" Lena growled over the com. 

For once Charlie complete agreed with her aggressive mood. These bastards had nearly killed Raphael. It would feel great to give them some of their own medicine. It would also be a chance to finally hit someone.

"Yeah, let's!" He agreed.

"Okay," Mouse said, much calmer, "we have the advantage in numbers, let's not waste it by stupidly rushing in and getting our asses handed to us, yeah?"

He was right of course. Charlie consciously forced himself to ease up. He hadn't even noticed how very tightly Archangel gripped his sword. He studied the data that Archangel's sensors were giving him, carefully pre-sorted by Harry to only give him the relevant facts.

"That's odd," Harry muttered on their private com line, "I am getting two life signs from Hector…"

Then Charlie's com suddenly beeped and a third com line opened. "Charlie, can you hear me?" Dale's voice asked. Charlie blinked at it in confusion. Prometheus was nowhere in sight and he definitely wasn't a mecha you could hide behind some bushes.

"Dale?" Charlie asked, quickly muting his words for his connection to his team.

"Oh, thank god you still got this frequency open." Dale replied immediately. "Don't attack! We are here to save you!"

"WHAT?!" Charlie and Harry burst out almost simultaneously. "Where the fuck are you?" Charlie added.

"Over here."

Charlie watched with stunned disbelief as the Legion mecha with the two-handed sword raised a huge fist as if in greeting.

"You… you stole another Legion mecha?" he asked, even though that made no sense whatsoever.

"No, I'm only a passenger. Tiberius is piloting it." Dale chuckled. "Tiberius, say hi."

"Hi." A second voice said shyly, this one unknown to Charlie.

Charlie's brain desperately scrambled to keep up and failed. Sadly there wasn't as much time to explain as he would have liked.

"Can you keep your mates from attacking so I can explain?" Dale urged him.

That snapped Charlie's attention back to his own team. He hadn't paid attention to the attack plan that Mouse had carefully laid out, but they definitely were getting ready to strike. He quickly re-opened his channel to them.

"Mouse, don't attack! I…" For a moment he had no idea what reason to give. 'They come in peace' sounded simply ridiculous and he wasn't even sure if he believed that himself.

"We're getting some odd readings here." Harry, as usual came to his rescue. "Let me make sure they have not laid some clever trap."

"Okay, thanks Harry." Mouse replied immediately. "Hold your fire."

Charlie muted his side once more. "Dale? What the fuck is going on?" he demanded.

"Super short version: The Conclave and the Legion lost all of their mechas last night pulse, cause we ran away and have banded together so they can't keep using us anymore." Dale replied quickly. "Now we are here to get all of you out, before the Gaians get the memo and lock you up tight."

Freedom. True freedom. Safety for Olivia and their unborn child. Charlie felt the world spin with the sudden hope.

"Great." Harry summed up his feelings. "But what about me?"

Once again Dale laughed and Charlie could just picture his cocky grin. "Jess and Claudia are on their way to get you out." He said. "With some extra help. Charlie, you have to convince your team we are here to help. We have to put up a bit of a mock fight until we get conformation that Harry is out."

Charlie groaned. "That won't be easy after what your new friends did to Raphael."

"I'm truly sorry about that." The other voice chimed in again. "We had no choice but to fight. You must know that."

He knew it was true, but that didn't make it easier when Charlie thought of Raphael lying in his sick bed. It reminded him of an important fact.

"You have to get Raphael out as well." He said.

"I'll make sure of it." Harry reassured him, sounding just a little distracted. "I'll start packing. See you soon, Dale!"

"Well?" Lena growled over the com, her Hound angrily scratching the ground, ready to attack.

It wouldn't be easy to convince Mouse and her that the Legion mechas were suddenly not their enemy anymore. Charlie didn't even know whether they would be as eager to run away as him and Olivia. But he would convince them. He had to.


	40. The Den

Sneaking into the compound where the Gaians housed their pilots and mechas would have been one hell of a lot easier if they had used any sort of technical surveillance. Then Dale could have hacked into their system, found out where what was to be found and plotted a safe course. But all the Gaians used were good old fashioned guards and honest to god guard dogs.

At least said dogs were highly susceptible to treats, Alexander thought, as he watched Claudia affectionately ruffle the necks of two hulking beasts who were slobbering all over her. She petted them some more and then quietly ordered them to settle down.

Moments later they climbing over the second fence, leaving the strip of barren land that was patrolled by the dogs.

"I have two questions for you." He heard Jess whisper to Claudia. "What did you put into those treats and can you give me some of it for Alexander?"

"Hey!" Alexander complained, trying to put all his righteous indignation and amusement into a mere whisper.

Claudia chuckled. "It was just some beef jerky. It's all about how you approach animals. I worked with dogs extensively, before I settled on my thesis."

In the dark they could make out the structures of the compound. There were plenty of lights on, inside and out, illuminating the area. Only a few guards were visible and they didn't seem overly alert. No surprise there since they wouldn't expect an attack now. It wasn't too hard to guess where they would find Harry. His workshop had to be located in a building large enough to house Archangel and it had to be fairly new.

"There." Jess indicated one of the tall halls that stood apart from the tight cluster that probably held the Gaian mechas when they were not on a mission.

Alexander nodded and they slowly made their way to the back of the building, dodging lazily patrolling guards and light spots. Jess moved like a trained operative and Alexander felt ridiculously proud that this was his girlfriend. He himself wasn't quite up to his normal form again, a faint headache was still nagging at the back of his neck and Claudia refused to give him any painkiller since they might interfere with his interfacing with Snare. They were both armed with combat knives and handguns.

Claudia wasn't exactly clumsy, but it was obvious that sneaking or combat were not something she ever spent time practicing. 

"We really need to get you some combat training." Jess echoed his thoughts, as Claudia ran into her because her attention had been on god knows what else. "With your superior strength you could be a real asset in ground missions and we might see more of those now."

"My discoveries are not meant for military application." Claudia grumbled.

Alexander couldn't help snorting. "Really? What did you think the Conclave would use it for?" He asked. "Enhanced strength doesn't scream super soldier to you?"

Claudia shrugged. "I hadn't put thought into that, yet." She admitted.

"It's probably a good thing you got out now." Jess said thoughtfully. "They may well have locked you up in a lab of your own with a bunch of Legion soldiers as your test subjects to turn you into our next Professor Scorten."

All of them shuddered at the idea.

The backdoor to the workshop was secured from the outside with an old fashioned padlock. Apparently the Gaians wanted to make sure their precious Doctor didn't escape unsupervised more than they were afraid someone might break in.

"I could rip it off…" Claudia suggested, but Jess pushed her aside.

"Let me." She said.

Alexander and Claudia watched as she pulled some metal pieces from her boot, inserted them in the lock and started fiddling with it.

"You can pick locks?" Alexander asked, feeling only moderately surprised by this point. There had been a time when he would have felt annoyed and threatened by the fact that the two girls were apparently better equipped for any sort of trouble than he was. That time was in such ancient past that Alexander looked back at his old self with amusement and a hint of contempt. "I wonder whatever you have brought me along for with you." He snarked.

"To look pretty?" Jess answered and took the now opened lock off the door.

"And catch bullets." Claudia added, gesturing at the door for him to go in first.

"Most gracious of you, my ladies." He inched the door open to get a glimpse of the inside. 

It immediately reminded him of the Hangar, with the clutter to various incomprehensible tech and tools strewn all over the place seemingly at random. The hall was brightly lit and the central spot where the mecha would be parked was empty. There was no one in sight, but he heard someone muttering to the left behind a precariously high stack of crates.

Alexander slipped inside, followed by Jess. Claudia wisely remained outside where she would not get into the line of fire should there be a fight. Alexander silently pointed at the source of the muttering, then gestured for them to circle around so they would approach from different directions.

What they found was a middle-aged man with short, slightly shaggy hair, wearing a typical Gaian garb, including a heavy leather coat, who was packing tools into a travel bag. Apparently he was very carefully picking what to pack. Even though his clothing looked nothing like a Conclave scientist the muttering and gestures were very familiar.

"Harry!" Jess greeted him, while Alexander still checked for hidden guards.

"Oh, there you are." The man answered entirely unsurprised and smiling brightly. "Dale told me you were coming." He studied Alexander curiously. "You must be Snare's new pilot. A pleasure to meet you."

Alexander was a little startled by the friendly greeting but considering this was one of Dale's best friends he probably should have expected as much.

"Is Dale okay?" Alexander asked. "Did the Gaian pilots agree?"

Harry nodded, threw some last tool into the bag and zipped it shut. "Yes. And now we have to hurry, cause we need to pick up Raphael before we can get out of here."

"Isn't that Brute's pilot?" Jess asked surprised. "Shouldn't he be out with his mecha?"

Alexander still had trouble telling all the mechas apart, but he was pretty sure that Brute was the leader of the Gaian team.

"Brute is a wreck and Raphael is in sick bay." Harry explained, following them to the back door. "He had a run in with the Legion and got beat up pretty badly. But we are not leaving him behind. He's a good man."

Jess muttered curses under her breath. That would make things just a little harder. "You realize that we can't really risk getting seen, there is only the three of us." She complained.

"You didn't leave me behind, we don't leave him behind." Alexander decided the matter calmly. Jess frowned unhappily, but he could see that he had hit the right spot.

Outside Harry and Claudia greeted each other with a quick hug.

"I can get us into sick bay unseen, I think." Harry then said. "But I know there is at least one guard posted in the corridor there. And Raphael is not exactly fit at the moment."

Claudia shrugged. "I can carry him, if I have to. We should hurry, though. I have no idea how long Dale and Charlie can stage a credible mecha fight before someone starts to wonder."

Alexander agreed on that. Mecha fights hardly ever lasted very long. They quickly followed Harry, as he led them on a seemingly random route over the compound. They finally entered the main building through a window on the ground floor which led to a storage room that was part of the sick bay and filled with filing cabinets.

Once more Jess picked the lock and then Alexander peered out into the corridor. It was lit only mutely, not to disturb patients, probably. The one guard Harry had mentioned leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, dozing lightly, a good way down the corridor. Alexander judged the distance. They'd have to sneak up to the man and take him out quietly before he could raise an alarm. Sneaking wasn't exactly his strong side. He gestured Jess to join him at the door and then pointed towards the guard. He could see her calculate the distance as well, then she nodded at him. 

Best girlfriend on the planet, Alexander thought as he watched her creep down the corridor, silent as a hunting predator. She reached her target and quickly grabbed the guard in a crippling choke hold. The only sound he got out was a muffled groan. For a short while his tried to free himself and then only his feet kicked feebly and finally he went limp in her grip.

Alexander quickly joined her and stole kiss. Jess smiled at him savagely.

"Oh my god, did you kill him?" Claudia whispered when she and Harry left the storage room as well.

Jess exchanged a short look with Alexander which told him that the man was indeed very dead. "Only unconscious, don't worry." Jess lied smoothly.

Claudia looked very relieved, while Harry already opened one of the doors leading off the corridor. It led to a rather pleasant looking patient room. The single bed was occupied by a man who Alexander would have thought of as strong and broad, if he hadn't looked so thoroughly bruised currently. He was just waking up from the sudden intrusion and blinked at them wearily.

Alexander and Jess remained outside and left the explaining to Harry and Claudia. They only heard parts of the whispered conversation, but apparently the leader of the Gaian pilots had no lasting reservations to running away. Harry and Claudia helped him dress. He really looked like hell, but he determinately walked on his own with just a little support from Claudia.

They left the sick bay the way they had entered through the window and then quickly crossed the compound once more to get back to their original entry point. The small truck they had stolen earlier was parked outside the fence, hidden behind some trees.

Only when they had all safely made it over the two fences and past the still friendly guard dogs, did an alarm inside the compound start to howl. They didn't wait around to check what had caused it.


	41. somewhere in the middle of nowhere

The sound of laughter and many voices drifted over to where Tiberius was sitting on a comfortable rock, just outside the large cavern they had chosen to be their headquarter for now. Inside several camp fires were burning. The smell of roasting food made Tiberius stomach grumble in longing, but for now he remained away from the impromptu party that had started almost as soon as everyone arrived.

There had been a few interesting confrontations when they parked their mechas and for the first time all pilots faced each other in the flesh.

Tiberius had very much expected to be a target for the Gaians since he and his team had nearly killed their leader.

The pilot of Hound had turned out to be a very angry female, but instead of Tiberius she had turned on Alexander instead, since apparently his looks registered as most 'Legion' with her. She had met the brick wall named Jess who claimed the legionnaire as her boyfriend. The two women had snarled at each other like she wolves and Tiberius had feared bloodshed, when suddenly Hound's pilot started laughing and after a few friendly punched the two of them were suddenly best friends.

Now they were sitting at a fire together, drinking some vile sort of alcoholic brew which Jess had brought in her mecha, with Jess possessively wrapped around her boyfriend.

Raphael, the pilot they had injured so badly and whose mecha they'd destroyed, had made a point of thanking Tiberius for getting him out, even. As if that had been Tiberius accomplishment. He had still been visibly upset about losing his mecha, of course. Not for long though, since Dale and his friend Harry had immediately grabbed him and started making plans to steal another of the unused Legion mechas to remodel it for Raphael.

How they intended to do that with the limited supplies was a mystery to Tiberius, but they seemed to think it was possible.

Charlie and his pregnant girlfriend were sitting at the same camp fire, but they were much too busy kissing each other to pay attention to their plotting friends.

Tiberius couldn't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for them: knowing that their child would be stolen from them to become a pilot as early as possible. To know that they would be required to make more children, just to fuel the Gaian leadership's ambition. That Tiberius had no doubt Legion Command would have done the exact same thing, given half a chance, was even more disgusting.

Merou had been surprisingly friendly. Being free apparently did a world of good for his mood. Especially after he had witnessed the blue haired Conclave girl called Claudia lift a crate which had to weigh at least a ton with her bare hands. He had muttered something about 'perfect wife material' and since that moment he was following her around, being the most charming male Tiberius had ever witnessed. He'd managed to make the poor girl blush at least four times already.

Even Toni seemed to have found a kindred quiet spirit in the huge Gaian pilot called Mouse. Tiberius had never seen Toni as relaxed. Today was probably the first time he had heard Toni laugh. Not the tense, nervous laugh he had so far been treated to, but freely. Happy.

They all seemed happy and it scared Tiberius. Of course they were now celebrating their newly won freedom, but what would happen in a few days or weeks? Tiberius was sure they would soon enough start missing the comforts of civilization. Only Merou really had experience in surviving out here in the wild lands.

Not all of them had as much to lose as Charlie and his girl. Would they then turn on each other? How would he manage to keep them a team? To keep them focused on their common goal? And what exactly were their goals anyway, apart from remaining free?

He suddenly keenly felt that he really was just a teenager who had been a student at school only a few weeks ago. Or was it months already? With everything that had happened it was a blur. He wasn't really qualified to lead anyone, let alone a band of renegade mecha pilots. And still it had been his idea that had sparked the rebellion and so far they all seemed content to go along with his plans.

With a groan Tiberius rubbed his face. They trusted him and he really had no clue how to proceed. How on earth had he allowed this to happen?

Drawing a deep breath he tried to refocus his thoughts. There was no point in despairing. The best way to keep them from getting restless and annoyed was to keep everyone busy. He'd sent Merou and someone else to look for Merou's tribe, to start good relations with them and hopefully trade for some food and extra comfort items like furs to make the caverns more habitable. The other tribes would have to be contacted and made aware of their new neighbours as well.

Someone also would have to venture close to the territories of the Gaians, the Legion and the Conclave to pick up some information what the fallout from their escape was.

They'd also need to steal extra tech supplies. On a regular basis.

Raphael seemed like an experienced leader. Surely he would be able to offer valuable advice as soon as he had recovered from his wounds.

There really were a million things to do and if he managed to get everyone involved they would hopefully be too busy to complain and too invested in the effort to abandon it.

"Hey." Dale's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Tiberius hadn't even noticed his friend sneak up on him. "Hey, back." He said, trying to come up with a credible smile.

"Looks like our great leader is thinking totally important thoughts." Dale said with a grin and pushed Tiberius until he could settle on the rock right next to him.

Tiberius grimaced. "Someone has to."

He relaxed, when Dale slung one arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. "I'll let you in on a secret," he said, "you're not in this alone. I'm here."

With a soundless sigh Tiberius relaxed against Dale, letting his head lean against his friend's bony shoulder. Dale was right, of course. It made Tiberius realize how tired he really was.

"Thank you." He answered softly.

For a while they just sat like that and Tiberius had started dozing off when Dale spoke again. "So have you thought about the most important question?"

"Which is?" Tiberius asked back. He had probably overlooked something vitally important, but he couldn't really bring himself to care.

"What are we going to call ourselves?" Dale asked, all serious.

"What?" That was Dale's all important question?

"Well, now that we are basically a faction of our own we do need an amazing name, don't we?" Dale continued, unfazed. "How about 'Mecha Coalition'?"

Tiberius blinked at him in disbelief.

"'Pilots for Peace'?"

"Dale…"

"'Freedom Force'?"

"Dale!"

"'Mighty Metal Warriors'?"

Tiberius laughed. "Oh shut up." He muttered, grabbed his friend's face and then kissed him soundly. It was becoming a habit he quite enjoyed.

All things considered, maybe he was quite happy too.


End file.
